Longmeadow
Primary school
Your Child's Mental Health
Life is full of uncertainty, and the COVID-19 pandemic has increased stress and anxiety levels in children and adults in an unprecedented way. Now is the time to do all we can to protect our mental health and the mental health of those we love. Children, teens, and young adults are particularly affected by intensified uncertainty.
Click on the below buttons to be directed to websites that may help parents manage their children's mental health during this time.
the youth mental health project
children's mental health campaign
Talking to children about feelings
In this digital age it is virtually impossible to stop children from finding out about upsetting news events, such as terrorism, war and violent crime, that they may find traumatic.
Advice from the Mental Health Foundation includes:
- do not try to blackout all exposure to news; this is both unlikely to succeed and could actually increase their fears
- be truthful about what has happened
- let them know it is normal to be concerned and tell them you are also concerned
- encourage them to ask questions if they seem unclear about what has happened
- reassure them that you will do everything you can to keep them safe
The Mental Health Foundation has more advice about talking to your children about scary world news.