{"id":12734,"date":"2025-09-10T11:49:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T11:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=12734"},"modified":"2025-09-23T08:05:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T08:05:15","slug":"parents-supporting-their-childrens-mental-health-and-wellbeing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/childrens-health\/parents-supporting-their-childrens-mental-health-and-wellbeing\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents supporting their children\u2019s mental health and wellbeing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-12735\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/10114639\/vicky-1757504799-Aine-Lynch-NPC-Photo.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/10114639\/vicky-1757504799-Aine-Lynch-NPC-Photo.jpg 160w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/10114639\/vicky-1757504799-Aine-Lynch-NPC-Photo-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Aine Lynch<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">CEO, National Parents Council<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Today, children face socially and emotionally complex lives, often more so than previous generations, and many are still coping with the lasting effects of Covid-19.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>As parents, watching children struggle can be overwhelming, and it\u2019s natural to feel unsure how to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-five-ways-to-wellbeing\"><strong>Five ways to wellbeing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If your child is experiencing significant mental health difficulties, seeking support is important. Your GP is the best first step. However, if your child is not in crisis but you\u2019ve noticed small changes in mood, anxiety or simply want to strengthen their wellbeing, proven steps can make a difference. These are called the \u2018Five Ways to Wellbeing,\u2019 developed by the New Economics Foundation. They are simple to build into family life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Connect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Strong relationships are the foundation of wellbeing. Encourage your child to spend time with friends, family, and community. Small moments, such as chatting over dinner or visiting friends, can help them feel valued and connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Be active<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Movement has a powerful impact on mood. Be a role model by being active together: go for a walk, play in the park, or support them to join an activity. It doesn\u2019t need to be intense; just moving matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Caring for your own wellbeing is one <br>of the best ways to support your child.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Keep learning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trying new things builds confidence and resilience. Support your child to explore art, music, cooking, coding or anything that sparks curiosity. Gaining new skills helps them feel capable and proud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4. Take notice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Encourage your child to notice the world around them. The smell of rain, the warmth of sunshine or something unusual outside can all become mindful moments. Paying attention helps balance negative messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>5. Give<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Helping others strengthens self-worth. Encourage kindness and sharing. Supporting grandparents, volunteering or being there for a friend, giving helps children feel valued and part of something bigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These steps aren\u2019t just for children; they are for you, too. Caring for your own wellbeing is one of the best ways to support your child. Take a breath, notice the little things, and make time for what recharges you. Small steps today can protect the mental health of both you and your child tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, children face socially and emotionally complex lives, often more so than previous generations, and many are still coping with the lasting effects of Covid-19. As parents, watching children struggle can be overwhelming, and it\u2019s natural to feel unsure how to help. Five ways to wellbeing If your child is experiencing significant mental health difficulties, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/childrens-health\/parents-supporting-their-childrens-mental-health-and-wellbeing\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":12736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3099],"tags":[5981],"class_list":["post-12734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childrens-health","tag-childrens-health-wellbeing-2025"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/10114904\/vicky-1757504943-AdobeStock_231742775-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/10114904\/vicky-1757504943-AdobeStock_231742775-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12737,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12734\/revisions\/12737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}