Why should we take care of Children’s mental health along with their physical health?

Have you ever noticed how commonly the mental health and well-being of children is ignored?

“Marks kitne aaye”

We come across so many advertisements on a daily basis wherein parents are encouraged to take care of their children’s physical health but how often do we come across any advertisements or videos wherein the sensitivity and awareness towards mental health of children is stimulated ? It is quite evident from the questions children are often asked, “Padhai kaisi chal rahi hai? Marks kitne aaye? Exams kab se hai ? and so on and so forth. Very rarely they are asked, “How are you feeling ? How are you being treated at school?

“Umra hi kya hai abhi tumhari”

Oftentimes, their mental and physical health concerns are belittled and shrugged off just by saying, “Umra hi kya hai abhi tumhari” which stems from the stereotype that all children are happy-go-lucky and cheerful. The grim reality is that their concerns are not even construed as real most of the times, which in turn, sows seeds for hesitance and embarrassment among children.

“Acche bacche nahi rote”

Besides, they are also told to muffle their emotions, only smile and cheerfulness are seen as acceptable, however, there’s a prescribed degree to which they are supposed to even smile, and anger, sadness are introduced to them as negative emotions. Apparently, the biggest stereotype of all times “Boys don’t cry” stems from here only. All of these are subliminal messages that insinuate to children it’s not okay to not be okay, that it’s not okay to express emotions freely and they innocently trail behind.

As we all know, Children’s Mental Health Week is going on, the least we can do is unlearn the stereotypical notions that stigmatise, belittle the concerns of children , acknowledge the importance of their mental health and be mindful of our actions as well as the words we utter in front of them going by the dictum which says, “children do what they see”.

These baby steps will certainly go a long way in raising physically, mentally and emotionally healthy children.

Written By- Nandini Satija

Graphics- Anshika Mittal