How can parents support their students' mental health?
We asked Cassie Nichols, hockey mom and former Pullman resident, who served as director of Psychological and Wellness Services at Two Universities. Cassie is now in private practice full time and sees older adolescents and adults in Washington state remotely and in person.
Adolescent mental health has become a national priority. But what can parents do to support their students’ emotional wellness and what can they do if they are concerned about their teen’s mental health?
1.Understand how good nutrition, exercise, and sleep work together to maintain not only good physical health, but also good mental health and talk about this with your student. With early school start times, zero periods, late athletic practices, homework, and social time for family and friends, sleep is often not seen as a priority. Students and parents do not often realize that teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep each night (CDC, Sept 10, 2020) and not getting enough sleep can impact one’s mental health.
2. Limit your student’s social media usage. Our students have been raised with smart phones and most cannot recall a time when they were not aware of social media. While social media can be enjoyable as a way to connect with friends, meet new people, and have easy access to entertainment, over usage can disrupt important healthy behaviors and skew “normalcy” (make-up, lighting, and filters can just about make anyone look like a run-way model). Research has shown that teenagers who are on social media for 3 hours or more a day have higher rates of anxiety and depression. And sleep is greatly improved if smart phones and other devices are kept out of bedrooms at night.
3. Encourage your student to practice good self-care. Good self-care means eating well, getting enough sleep, and exercising. But it also includes having good friends and spending time with them and with family doing things that they enjoy. It also means having time alone to pursue creative outlets such as journaling, drawing, or playing music.
4. Do not encourage underage drinking or other drug use. Students who are goal-directed, social, do well academically, are connected to their families, and are involved in extracurricular activities such as sports are less likely to use alcohol or drugs. The research on cannabis use by adolescents is fairly clear that it is not healthy for the developing brain and impacts motivation, memory, and learning.
5. Get involved in health related decisions at your student’s school and team sports. Encourage a health and wellness focus for PTA and booster initiatives. Help organizations make healthier food options for students. Try to protect sleep by questioning over-emphasis on regular and ongoing zero periods and late evening practices.
6. Our children learn from what they see from parents, even teenagers. Practice the choices that you want your students to make. Eat healthy food, exercise, get enough sleep, drink responsibly, practice good self-care. Talk with your students about their mental health and normalize these discussions. Have sit-down dinners with your family more evenings than not and have a “no screens at the table” rule. Involve your student with preparing dinner and cleaning up after dinner. Use this time to check in with one another and talk about your day.
Despite doing our best to keep our teenagers physically and emotionally healthy, they still may sometimes struggle with mental health challenges. Signs that your student may be struggling with their mental health may include changes in sleep (too much, too little), changes in eating habits, including weight loss or weight gain, lost of interest in things they previously found enjoyable, withdrawal from friends and family, academic struggles, frequent worry, self-harming behavior, alcohol and drug use, and/or telling you or someone else they that they are having a difficult time. Do not ignore your concern or warning signs. Understand that mental health problems are health and medical problems. Talk to your student’s medical providers or school counselor about your concerns. Make an appointment with a mental health provider. Talk with professionals about how you can best support your student to be healthy again.
Cassandra Nichols, Ph.D.
Seattle Anxiety Specialists