To mark World Mental Health Day 2019, Boots UK have partnered with BBC’s Children in Need's A Million & Me programme to encourage parents to talk about mental health with their children. And today (October 10th, 2019), over 20,000 Boots colleagues are out in store to help raise awareness of the ways that parents can play an even more active role in their child’s mental wellbeing.
Parenting on Female First
In the new research, Boots UK found that one in five parents have never discussed mental health with their child, with over a quarter (26%) saying it had never crossed their mind to do so. Parents admitted to being more comfortable talking to their children about topics such as drugs, alcohol, bullying and violence, despite the fact that over half believe that more conversations would improve the mental wellbeing of their child.
As part of the activity, Boots UK hosted a roundtable discussion with Louise Pentland, bestselling author and award-winning parenting vlogger, and a group of parents to discuss the importance of their children’s mental wellbeing and their tips for starting to talk about mental health difficult with your child.
Here are some more tips on how to support mental resilience in your child:
- Connect – Share mealtimes, take time to talk about feelings, encourage face-to-face social activities.
- Be active - Go for a walk, run, skip, cycle, swim, dance - whatever they may enjoy, indoors or outdoors.
- Take notice – Both externally, by taking them to new environments, and internally, by encouraging them to notice how they feel.
- Keep learning – Share skills and encourage their interests.
- Give - Encourage them to do something nice for a friend, family member or for charity.
If you’d like more information, speak to a Boots UK colleague in store or visit https://www.boots.com/health/mental-health/a-million-and-me to read about what you can do to support the mental wellbeing of your loved ones.