Listening to Children

It is Children’s mental health week this week from the 5th February to the 11th February and the theme is ‘My voice matters’.

The words of Whitney Houston’s song; The greatest love of all comes to mind.

‘I believe the children are our future

Teach them well and let them lead the way

Show them all the beauty they possess inside

Give them a sense of pride to make it easier

Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be ….’

Children are indeed the future and teaching them with that sense of awareness makes all the difference to their outcomes. They need to be equipped to face life head on with all the challenges along the way.

Modelling healthy relationships and emotional regulation skills are great ways to build resilience and emotional well-being in children and young people. Listening to what they have to say and showing respect for their feelings is helpful to build their confidence and prepare them for the future. Helping them develop a healthy and balanced sense of self enables them show up in their world fully present and able to use their skills and voice to make a difference.

Children need to be prepared for what lies ahead. Mental health challenges can start from childhood through relationships with significant others and triggers can include bullying, abuse in various forms, being constantly belittled, neglect. We can be intentional in supporting them develop confidence and resilience.

How to show their voice matters is by:

1. Recognizing they have a perspective - Though they may still be young and need guidance, their perspective is important and can be validated.

2. Actively listen when they speak – Active listening can include a lot of things for example; getting down to their level to maintain eye contact, asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing are all good ways to show attentiveness.

3. Validate their feelings – Whilst feelings are not facts, feelings are important to maintaining boundaries. Helping them acknowledge and regulate their feelings is a healthy step to well-being.

4. Help them recognize their uniqueness and ideas - Whilst it is easy to make comparisons, a recognition of unique strengths and abilities is vital in confidence building.
   

Children need a safe, loving environment to grow and develop. Creating that nurturing environment is the responsibility of parents and caregivers and the coping strategies, sense of self that children imbibe is what sets the foundation of their adulthood. It is indeed the greatest love of all.