Mental Health At Home

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Promoting mental wellness in the home can be a challenging task and not always will your efforts be successful but it doesn't always have to be a labour intensive below, are some ideas that can be both fun and exciting for your family.
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Are you Prepared to Help you Teen Make Good Decisions? Parent Action Pack

Family Support

Love and support. It sounds easy.We know we give it. Everyone does. Right? But giving your child consistent love and support can be tricky. How often does your child feel supported when you come home from an exhausting day and he or she wants to talk—but you want a break?

Love and Support: The Family Foundation
When your child messes up, do you provide support rather than discipline? Young people know our body language. They listen to what we say—and don’t say. They notice when our words and our actions don’t match. Supporting and loving our children refer to the many ways we affirm, love, and accept them, both verbally and non-verbally. When we hug them or say “I love you,” the expression is obvious. Paying attention to them, listening to them, and taking an interest in what they’re doing are less obvious ways of giving support, but they’re just as important. The next time you’re exhausted, say so. If you’re mad, be honest. If you don’t tell your child what you’re feeling, he or she will read one message from your body and hear the opposite. And children usually interpret inconsistent messages as meaning they have done something wrong. Be consistent. Be loving. Develop an openness so that your child always knows that you’re available and you’ll love her or him—no matter what.
Loving touch means a lot. Hug. Put your arm around your child. Comb your child’s hair.

Use loving words. Try: “I care about you.” “I love you.” “I think you’re terrific.” “You’re great!”
Be loving in your interactions. Look your child in the eyes when you talk with her or him.

Tell your child when he or she does something that makes you feel loved and cared for

Supporting your Child

Three ways to be supportive of your child:

1.Have a weekly family game night. Take turns choosing games.

2.Spend one hour a week with each child alone. Take a walk, listen to music, or just hang out.

3.Find out one area where your child is struggling. Listen to your child’s concerns. Help your child think of ways to address the issue.

Open Door Communication

A conversation starts. Your child’s upset. You’re tired. Pretty soon, the conversation heats into an argument. It ends when a door slams followed by silence. Arguments. We’ve all had them with our children. Sometimes it may feel like most conversations end with slammed doors. 


Though it can be challenging to develop the skills, being available for frequent, in-depth conversations is an important role we play in our children’s lives—from the time they learn to talk all the way into adulthood. What we have to do is create an atmosphere of communication—an open door. 


The trick with open-door communication is that we often don’t realize we create invisible closed doors around us. We get preoccupied and don’t pay enough attention. We’re exhausted, and we nod off as our child is in mid sentence. We jump to conclusions before our child says things. We assume the worst. We criticize our kids for what they tell us, so they close the door the next time out of fear or resentment. Sometimes there is no communication to begin with, and it’s hard to get your child to say what’s going on in her or his life. 


Having an open door means having an open mind, an open attitude. It means listening to understand, not to advocate our position. It means being available when our children need us—and when they don’t. It means taking good care of ourselves so that when our children want to communicate we can.  
10 Creative Ways to Care

1. Do something new together. Instead of a walk, go jogging—or skipping. Have a leaf fight.

2. If possible, eat at least one meal a day together.

3. Choose a book to read together as a family. Each day read 10 pages.

4. Ask what your child’s highs and lows were for the day. Tell about your day.

5. Every day show love through hugs,words, kisses, smiles.

6. Frame your child’s artwork and hang it on the wall.

7. Give your child space to think, to rest, to rejuvenate.

8. Lie under the stars together and talk about whatever crosses your mind.

9. When you’re feeling stressed, reassure your child that he or she isn’t the reason.

10. Write “family care” resolutions. Then keep them.