by Bloomsbury Education, with Matt Bawler
The importance of building mental health foundations from a young age Think of your child’s mental health as a journey down a river. There is a source, where their relationship with you feeds into a bubbling, living stream. There are shallows and eddies, where life events, the education system and social expectations give way to create meandering bends. Bridges and rapids may appear – strong role models, or, conversely, the traumas of poverty, neglect or abuse. Then travel slowly downstream to adulthood, where the culmination of biology and these influences may see the child diagnosed with a mental health problem once they get older.
Just over 1 in 3 children and young people in the UK with a diagnosed mental health condition get access to NHS care and treatment – some of them have fallen into life’s river rapids, or are more likely to slip into the water as adults. In fact, 1 in 3 mental health problems in adulthood are directly connected to an adverse childhood experience (ACE).
Being proactive parents, and not just reactive to your child’s mental health issues, means “going upstream” , as Desmond Tutu once put it, and asking how we can build children up from the beginning to pre-empt issues later in life. Neuroplasticity in the first five years gives young people a huge advantage in setting up secure mental architecture through the power of words. Repeating positive language creates memory hooks, helping children deal with discomfort by accessing powerful, resilient thinking through embodied responses.
So how can we teach mental health skills from a young age? One way is to use affirming, self-esteem-building phrases which can help to cut through the fight, flight, or freeze response a child experiences in a crisis. When they try something new and are frustrated by the learning process, help them to refocus and think, “I love a challenge!” or “Mistakes are great!” This eventually creates an emotional breaker switch they can use to snap themselves out of a negative thought – so “I can’t do it!” turns into “I can’t do it… YET!”
Children deserve to be equipped with the language, tools and confidence to face challenges, and grow in self-belief. Go upriver now, and help them discover these tools and unlock the courage that already lives inside them.
Matt Bawler is a veteran early years educator, children’s wellbeing lead and the author of The Courage Club series of picture books published by Bloomsbury Education.
