How to Keep Your Families Mental Health from Being Negatively Affected

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. 

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we live our lives. This has led to an enormous emotional toll on families as parents struggle to balance their work and home lives. The concept of the ‘new normal’ has led to people panicking about what it means and whether this is going to last until the end of time.

This situation won’t last forever. It’s inevitable that once a vaccine is found and enough people have been infected with the virus that life will begin to get back to how it always was again.

In the meantime, though, families have to find a way to cope. Here’s how you can keep the mental health of your family in a positive place during trying times.

Families Mental Health

Don’t Stretch Yourself Too Thin

The worst thing you can do is attempt to be the perfect parent. These are extraordinary times and if you hold yourself to excessively high standards you’re always going to fall short.

Concentrate on what matters and don’t sweat the small things. Focus on the basics of teaching your kids, keeping them entertained, and maintaining a hygienic home.

Take Time for Self Care

As a parent, you’ve been forced to take on more roles than ever before. Without the help of school and with work and home becoming entwined, you’re going to feel the strain at some point. This is when anxiety and depression can start to appear.

Take some time away for some self-care. It’s never been more important, even if you can only catch an hour here and there.

Read a book, workout alone, take a soothing bath, these little actions can make all the difference.

See Also: 50 Self Care Ideas For Moms

Listen to Your Children

The reality is children likely don’t understand why all these things are happening, particularly if they’re very young. Explaining to them why they can’t go outside with their friends, for example, is tricky.

Be mindful of their feelings and check in with them to figure out how they’re feeling and how you can improve their well-being.

The lack of understanding can be extremely frustrating for children, so take that into account if your children are down or starting to act out.

Maintain as Much of Your Usual Routine as Possible

As tempting as it is to stay up all night and have breakfast at noon, changes like this can have a real negative impact on mental health.

An easy way to preserve mental health is to maintain as much of your usual routine as possible. This includes maintaining a sleep schedule, eating meals at certain times, and maintaining a routine throughout the day.

Trying to match their distance learning programs with actual school hours is a great way of helping them to keep their minds in check.

Make Time for Exercise

Exercise is important, we all know that. New research reveals that even light exercise for young children can have a profound mental health impact later in life. Creating positive exercise habits early can allow them to grow up as mentally stronger and healthier individuals.

Always make some time for exercise. This doesn’t have to be a formal class. It can be as simple as kicking around a soccer ball in the backyard.

Try to get your kids moving for at least one hour every day.

See Also: How to Encourage Kids to Stay Active and Healthy

Keep Children Busy During the Day

Mental health problems in children work in a similar way to adults. When you don’t have anything to do, feelings of anxiety and depression are prone to grow.

This is amplified among children. They’re full of energy and they need regular outlets. Keeping your kids busy during the day will reduce the number of mental health issues they experience throughout the pandemic.

Creating a learning center for education, directing them to fun online resources, getting outside for some lessons in the yard are all things you could do to keep them busy.

Consider an Emotional Support Animal

Did you know that the number of pet adoptions has rocketed since March of this year?

The benefits of emotional support animals when it comes to fighting anxiety and depression are numerous. The science backs this up and there’s a proven link between better mental health when emotional support animals are present.

When your kids are finding it difficult to stay away from their friends and classmates, an emotional support animal can fill the gap.

Of course, an emotional support animal is for life and not just for a few months. Before opting for an emotional support animal, think about whether you can afford a pet and whether you have time to take care of it in the long-term.

See Also: How to Prepare For a Puppy Adoption

See a Virtual Therapist

If your kids are in a bad place right now, consider setting up a meeting with a virtual therapist. Virtual therapists work in the same way as normal therapists, apart from the fact all the meetings take place online.

Virtual therapists can help them to talk through their feelings and enable them to make some sense with regards to what they’re feeling.

The demand for virtual therapists has increased exponentially. Both children and adults are now benefitting.

Plus, a meeting with a virtual therapist is typically much cheaper than meeting with a therapist in-person. Finally, you may find that your existing health insurance plan covers virtual therapists.

See Also: Top Virtual Healthcare Services For 2020

You Can Keep Your Families Mental Health From Being Negatively Affected

The coronavirus pandemic has shined new light on mental health issues. Rostrum Records founder Benjy Grinberg has shared his experiences on the stigma surrounding mental health and how the pandemic has helped to push back against those stigmas.

In short, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help if you feel like someone in your family is experiencing mental health problems as a result of the pandemic.

The steps detailed above can go a long way to helping you and your kids make it through the pandemic. If you feel like you need some additional guidance, it’s worth getting in touch with the National Parent Helpline.

How has your family fared through lockdown and social distancing?

How to Keep Your Families Mental Health from Being Negatively Affected

21 Comments

  1. Swathi says:

    These are great tips, yes mental health is affected, with two kids around and money is tight lot of things going on.

  2. I do exercise everyday to be a mental health. We do play too with my kids, swim or coloring.

  3. These are great tips for helping to deal with the mental stress that COVID has brought us! I’m glad that that online therapy is happening now! Years ago, I had a family member dealing with severe anxiety. Many times he could not attend his therapy session because it was too stressful to leave the home. A virtual session would have been so helpful!

  4. sara lafountain says:

    This quarantine has really gotten me worried about our mental health. Thank you for sharing this important post.

  5. Monica Simpson says:

    These are all such great tips. I especially love the “listen to your children” one. It’s so simple but we often times forget how crucial it is.

  6. Lynndee says:

    We’re doing okay here and we’ve been taking precautions. We wear mask when we’re out and we practice social distancing too. And our son is going to have remote learning this coming semester.

  7. Marysa says:

    I feel like we have our ups and downs. We really have to get back on track with things, especially with the school year coming up.

  8. Nancy L says:

    Great tips! The longer this pandemic goes on the harder it is to keep a positive attitude. Exercise has been a real game changer for both me and the kids.

    1. Same. My boys now look forward to our walks and when the weather doesn’t allow it they are impatiently waiting for the next one.

  9. Catalina says:

    I am always in a lack of time! I should find some time to dedicate to myself and my family.

  10. Tasheena says:

    I really enjoyed reading this post. Mental Health is so important. Thanks for providing these tips.

  11. Lizzie Lau says:

    These are great tips. My daughter and I recently got back from a camping trip, and since our return I haven’t turned on the news at all. I realized while we were away how much tuning in daily was affecting my mental health.

  12. heather says:

    These are all so important. Schedule seems to be helping a lot for our kids.

  13. Anita Fonte says:

    This virus has caused so many things to change. Keep a normalcy to your everyday is good especially with children. I do find myself telling my kids to keep their mask on but also explaining why. Because they see people not wearing mask and think it is ok. When right now it is better to be safe.

  14. Adriana says:

    Most definitly mental health is a priority especially now that we are living such difficult times. It seems that stress and being inside for so long has affected many of us.

  15. Amber Myers says:

    Great tips! I make sure to always read, which is what I love to do. That helps calm me down.

  16. Terri A Steffes says:

    Since I have added walking to my routine, my whole outlook has changed!

  17. Jennifer Van Haitsma says:

    I have been seeing a virtual therapist every week and it really does help. I’m also trying to make sure I don’t overextend myself and get proper self care.

  18. Sarah Bailey says:

    These are some great points, I think it is sometimes hard for people to remember we all have mental health and we all do need to take care of it.

  19. Pam Wattenbarger says:

    The four year old in our family is having difficulty with the new normal of COVID. She doesn’t understand why we can’t go to the playground or go to her preschool.

  20. melissa chapman says:

    This pandemic has made us act much differently. I know we should all keep busy and social distance and keep to our own families as much as possible

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