Mental well-being: 4 ways parents can initiate a conversation about mental health with kids

Mental health is one of the biggest concerns that India is dealing with today; this is especially true for Gen Z. Lifestyle, pressure to overachieve, peer pressure, and the need to be constantly validated on social media is something that teens deal with on a daily basis. Falling short on any one of them can lead to a lot of stress for them.

The National Crime Records Bureau report said that the country recorded the highest number of student suicides in 2022. There was a 4.5 per cent increase in teen deaths by suicide. The data also pointed out that 864 students out of 10,732 died by suicide due to ‘failure in examination’. Therefore, it is important that parents talk about mental health issues with their children regularly.

According to Swati Singh, a Faridabad-based psychologist and an alumna of Charkhi Dadri, given the stigma attached to mental health in our country even today, parents must talk about the issue with their kids. She stressed that it is just as important as talking about and caring about one’s physical health.

The first thing that parents should do is remove the stigma that is attached to mental health

–Swati Singh, Psychologist

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 “Post-Covid, children have been most affected by mental health issues. Talking about it is necessary at home so that the child doesn’t get the wrong information; this can do more harm than good. The first thing that parents should do is remove the stigma that is attached to mental health. Parents need to explain to kids that just like medication is needed to treat physical ailments, it is imperative that we address mental health problems as well,” Singh explained.

She said that mental health is not always about depression, anxiety, or stress. “It can also be about feeling sad and anger too. The child must be encouraged to feel these emotions and that it is perfectly fine to have these feelings. Parents must engage and communicate with their kids; if they are a little older, parents can download a few activity sheets that are there on the Internet. These worksheets related to emotions can help children express their feelings,” Singh said.

Dr Sanjay Chugh, a neuro-psychiatrist in Delhi opined that most parents end up talking about inconsequential things. But there are slightly more important issues that need to be addressed. In today’s day and age, mental health and mental health-related issues are by far the most important aspects of our functioning and our existence. If parents do not talk about these issues with their kids, they are going to get some lopsided input from their peer group,” Dr Chugh warned.

Before a parent sits down to initiate any other conversation on mental health, they must have clarity themselves; one can’t come up with half-baked theories. As a psychiatrist, I would not want parents to pass on their misconceptions to their children

–Dr Sanjay Chugh, Neuro-psychiatrist

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It is estimated that one-third of this world’s population at some point in time or the other will have issues related to mental health in their lifetime. So it becomes paramount to give a clear perspective to kids about what mental health is.

“Before a parent sits down to initiate any other conversation on mental health, they must have clarity themselves; one can’t come up with half-baked theories. As a psychiatrist, I would not want parents to pass on their misconceptions to their children. Parents must get rid of any bias before they even broach the topic with their kids. Once this is done, they can psycho-educate the children about what the brain is, what the mind is and what brain health is. These will help the child make himself/herself stronger and how to identify signs and symptoms so that they can reach out for help whenever required,” Dr Chugh said and added that there is no denying that every parent needs to take on a very definite and definitive responsibility to educate the children about anything and everything to do with mental health.