ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Talking about mental health can be a hard conversation to have, especially with children, who may not yet be able to articulate their feelings.
During Mental Health Awareness Month, educators are sharing how they address the subject with little kids.
- Lehigh Valley educators give tips on how to talk to children about mental health
- Talking about mental health with young people normalizes the feelings they might already be experiencing
- Books can help address the subject with infants and toddlers
“It is probably the most important thing that we can talk to our children about as early as infancy and making sure that we're creating those secure bonds with them,” said Lauren Fraser, assistant director at the Lightbridge Academy of Allentown.
Lightbridge Academy is an educational early childcare center with three locations in the Lehigh Valley.
Fraser said talking to children at a young age can help create a secure bond with a child.
“Kids under 2 don't have a lot of words to tell us how they're feeling, so it's not a conversation that we're having, but it's more of making sure we have a secure bond with them," she said.
"So, when they are feeling sad, you can still talk to them and say, ‘Hey, I see you're sad. I see you're frustrated. How can I help you?'"
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Fraser suggested keeping the conversation simple and casual, asking kids questions such as “What was your favorite part of the day” and “What was a hard part of your day?”
Fraser said books, such as those written by Kira Willey, about emotions can be very effective for infants and toddlers.
Larissa Noto, owner of The Lovely Little Lotus, also recommended some of Willey’s books and videos for children learning to express emotions.
Noto shares yoga practices with adults and children in the Lehigh Valley and teaches mindfulness in schools.
“It's so important to talk about mental health for our children because it normalizes the things that our children might already be experiencing,” Noto said.
“The earlier that we're starting that trickles down into — or trickles, I should say, up into — middle school and high school students who are more prepared with how they can identify their thoughts, their feelings, their emotions when they're noticing that they're starting to feel anxious, seeking out maybe it's a counselor, or maybe it's a therapist, maybe we're adding the adjunct of yoga and mindfulness."
Noto said there are many different ways to teach yoga and mindfulness. She offered some insight into how she instructs students and teaches them about mindfulness by breaking it down and focusing on one practice at a time such as breathing.
She said she tells her students, "'It's free, it's in your body. You can express it these ways next time you feel this way.' That's how I like to structure things with them.”
Noto said yoga and mindfulness are great tools because they can be used in any situation to become more present at the moment and address feelings.
She added that libraries also are great resources for yoga classes, mindfulness practices, and information about mental health and children.
