1. Prioritize a Healthy Diet: Young people need essential nutrients to help develop strong mental health. Offering fresh foods and fruits can help provide children with the minerals and vitamins their bodies need to differentiate emotional triggers.

2. Encourage Engagement in Positive Activities: It is important for children to feel they have control over their environment. Involvement in extracurricular activities allows them to have a sense of purpose while regularly engaging in positive activities.

3. Encourage Self-Expression and Communication: It is important for children to understand their own thoughts and feelings, and to express them in an appropriate and healthy way. Support them by providing a safe environment to openly communicate their innermost thoughts and feelings.

4. Surround Them with Caring Adults: Children need caring adults in their lives who will actively listen and provide emotional support. This can come from sources such as family, friends, teachers or healthcare professionals.

5. Build Healthy and Positive Relationships: Connecting with positive peers and adults can build a strong support network for children and teens. Encouraging them to interact with peers who have similar interests or values will help them build healthy relationships that are rewarding and inspiring.

6. Foster a Healthy Lifestyle: Ensuring children lead an active and healthy lifestyle is essential. Exercise and proper sleep can help strengthen their bodies and minds in order to better cope with and address challenging emotions.

7. Teach Mindful Thinking: Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of and engaged in the moment, and of accepting without judgement feelings and experiences that happen in the present. Mindfulness can help improve focus, reduce stress and encourage children to higher degrees of self-awareness and self-regulation.

8. Provide them with Coping Strategies: Equip children with the skills to effectively deal with difficult experiences and emotions. Teach them healthy coping strategies such as deep breathing and the use of positive self-talk.

9. Emphasize Social Interaction: Help children understand the importance of supporting and listening to their friends. Google search social connectedness across the generations and research shows that strong social connectedness can have a significant impact on mental health.

10. Promote Self-Compassion: Recognize and make space for feelings of insecurity, self-doubt and feeling discouraged. Remind children they’re not alone in feeling this way. Teach them affectionate self-talk and self-care practices that can help them bounce back.

11. Stay Educated: Research current mental health issues and services, and use this knowledge to help children access relevant support and understand what is available to them.

12. Observe: Monitor your child’s overall behavior and wellbeing, and watch for possible signs of mental health distress. Keeping track of any sudden or noticeable changes can assist you in understanding how to best provide support.