What is more important for humanity's future than enabling our children to develop healthy bodies and minds? Many people tend to link mental health with being free of mental illness (Henderson et al., 2013). Good mental health is a state of welfare that permits one to lead a happy and fulfilling life and assists children in enduring life's difficulties (Winston & Chicot, 2016). Good mental health is significant in children; first, good mental health is vital for their development and welfare. It helps children construct healthy relationships, persist in stressful circumstances, and change difficulties into opportunities (Winston & Chicot, 2016). It assists in learning and advancing constructively, creating a means for triumph at school and in real life. Therefore, good mental health can help children be strong, happy, and courageous. Secondly, good mental health is a vital element for healthy child growth. It fosters children to construct good emotional, social, cognitive, and communication skills (Winston & Chicot, 2016). Therefore, it lays a basis for positive behaviour and attitudes to assist them in dealing with their lives.
Additionally, they develop feelings of self-worth and learn from their mistakes by taking risks. Children with good mental health can control their emotions and establish healthy relationships, which is vital for their welfare even in adulthood. Furthermore, they foster life skills like problem-solving and decision-making, which are coping tactics for handling apprehension, stress, and complex circumstances. Overall, a solid basis for children's mental health at a young age can result in a happy and fulfilling life.
With the MHST 631 (Health Promotion-1) course, I want to understand how children's mental health can be promoted and how new solutions and interventions can benefit them. As part of my health promotion course journey, I would like to gain an understanding of the importance of mental health promotion by addressing the determinants of positive mental health before a specific mental health problem has been identified, with the ultimate goal of improving the positive mental health of the population. As much as I understand the value of promoting mental health in the present day and how and why it can be achieved, my understanding of this concept has yet to reach the point where I can integrate it into the system. Developing a model for understanding mental health in children will be challenging. However, I will do my best to create an easy-to-understand model that is backed by authentic and reliable theories and resources. It will be interesting to learn what MHST 631 has to offer.
Reference
Figure 1: What is Well-Being? Retrieved from https://stmary.dcdsb.ca/en/parents/Mental-Health-Information.aspx?_mid_=104432
Figure 2: Positive mental health conceptual framework for surveillance. Retrieved from https://www.eenetconnect.ca/topic/release-of-positive-mental-health-surveillance-indicator-framework
Henderson, C., Evans-Lacko, S., & Thornicroft, G. (2013). Mental Illness Stigma, Help Seeking, and Public Health Programs. American Journal of Public Health, 103(5), 777–780. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3698814/
Winston, R., & Chicot, R. (2016). The importance of early bonding on the long-term mental health and resilience of children. London journal of primary care, 8 (1), 12-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/17571472.2015.1133012
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