Did you know that kids have shown more restlessness, irritability, anxiety, and clinginess since Covid-19 started? In
2020, when schools shut down, kids lost social skills. To solve this, parents can let kids know they can open up, or
that therapy is an option if they don’t want to open up to their parents.
Kids are often scared to talk about their mental health because some parents don’t believe them or tell them their
struggles are just a phase. The article “Listen! Your Child’s Mental Health Depends on It” says, “We have a concept
deeply engraved in our mind that children should be the ones listening to us. But shouldn’t it be two ways? You don’t
need another kid telling you how all kids feel, because not all of them feel the same. You should talk to your own kid
about how they feel.” This shows how parents want their kids to feel but also don’t care how their kids really feel. No
wonder kids are scared of opening up.
When parents talk to their kids about their mental health and how they feel, it can help their kids. An article from
Verywell Family says moments like these are a great opportunity to normalize asking for help. “Parents may want to
tell their kids that they see a therapist or talk about how to know if talking to a professional might be a good idea,”
says the author. It becomes less of a big deal if you talk about mental health checkups similar to how you might talk
about a physical health checkup. Not all kids feel safe about opening up, but speaking to them about it could help.
This shines a light on how parents speaking to their kids can help kids open up.
When schools started shutting down, kids’ mental health and social skills started to become worse. This can be
solved by letting kids know they have options to talk about their feelings. Have you talked to your kids this week
about how they feel?
