There is tremendous academic pressure on children right from childhood till adulthood. Academic pressure must be handled diligently by both parents and educators as it directly impacts their mental health over time. Parents and educators must not just educate themselves but they need to watch out for signs and symptoms of mental health issues of their children; they need to teach children how to manage academic stress or pressure. Mental health has long been neglected although it has a high impact on one’s overall health. Mental health is as important as physical health and children must be supported in every way possible to help deal with any kind of academic pressure.   Extreme academic stress can be because of various reasons: parents have unrealistic expectations of their child’s academic performance; children feel high pressure from their peers or teachers; or children may be pushing themselves too hard to achieve goals that are beyond their capabilities. Children are too young and naive to recognize when their mental health is affected. They are ill-prepared or are unaware of how to reach out for help or how to recognize the symptoms. They need maximum support from their parents and teachers and even friends.   We see the adverse effects of such mental pressure of academic pressure in our society. There are instances when children take extreme measures like self-harm, suicide or drugs to overcome their mental health issues. There are countless ways it negatively impacts them.   In order to help support your child’s mental health and well being, there are a couple of things that can be done by parents, teachers or close family and friends.   Spend personal time with children Children need undivided attention from their parents or caregivers. They need to feel safe, secure, loved and cared for. To this extent, parents should take out some time from their daily schedule to fit in one-on-one time with their child. A time when they sit together, chat about various things, connect emotionally and give them assurance that they are always there for them. Speak to them and ask them about their day, their friends, their academics, their interests and so on. It is only when you are connected with your child at a personal level that you are able to help them when they need you.   Keep your eyes open for any significant behavioral changes When you consistently connect with your child, you are more likely to pick up any kind of behavioral changes at the earliest. The faster you recognize, the easier it is to get help from a professional if required. Notice your child’s daily schedule, their emotions, moods, attitudes and habits. Any deviation that may be out of the usual could be something to watch out for. Speak to your child about those changes and get to know the root cause. Ease any kind of academic pressure by helping them take a break from the stress triggers. Plan something that you think will be fun for your child. When your child feels emotionally and mentally supported, they are in a better position to deal with mental health issues.   Encourage children to pursue a hobby or outdoor activity From childhood, nurture your child’s interests and encourage them to pursue their interests. Hobbies like painting, singing, playing an instrument, gardening, cooking and many others are a great way to help your child do something with joy. These are hobbies that they are passionate about. It makes them happy. They act like stress busters and increase their enjoyment in life. Having no hobbies will make their life mundane and boring and if they face academic pressure, they are more likely to have deeper mental health issues.   Inculcate healthy food habits Parents play a major role in inculcating healthy food habits right from when their child starts eating solid food. Healthy food habits have a direct impact on a child’s physical and even mental health wellbeing. Unhealthy food choices are the cause for several physical and mental illnesses. Teaching your child, the importance of eating healthy will have a lasting positive impact on lives. Children later grow up to manage their eating habits and ensure they stick to a healthy lifestyle as they are more aware of the consequences of unhealthy food choices.   Teach children to know and manage their own feelings and emotions A child needs to be taught through real life scenarios regarding their own emotions and feelings, how to deal with them and how to reach out for help when they undergo difficult emotions. They need to be taught techniques to manage their emotions and feelings. Parents and teachers must extend their support to children when they go through tough times. Counseling or professional help through therapy are some ways that your child will be benefitted when they go through academic pressure.   Loving and caring relationships between parents and children is key for parents to extend their much-needed support to their children in times of all kinds of pressure or stress. Maintaining healthy mental health must be given top priority alongside physical wellbeing.

Use of screen time in today’s world includes different kinds of screens like mobile phones, ipads, laptops, television and more. Life without screens is nearly impossible today which is why children are exposed to screens right from their childhood or even their birth! Exposure to screens cannot be completely avoided in such circumstances. But there are ways to manage or limit screen time so that children are benefited from it and not suffer because of it.   Benefits of screen time: There is some research backed educational content available on different media platforms like youtube, Netflix, TV and so on. These include preschool content that helps children learn language, communication, fine or gross motor skills and more. For example, Miss Rachel is a YouTube channel that is wonderful for preschoolers or toddlers as it is filled with lots of amazing learning content. Children learn to sing, dance, say their first words, sentences and more! It does not have flashy or addictive content that harms the eye sight of little children. Parents must be vigilant in picking the right educational content for their children as not all educational content is beneficial. There is a definite need for parents to do their research before exposing their children to any kind of screen time. For instance, research shows that certain YouTube or other channels for children seem educational but in fact they are causing harm to your child by making them get addicted to them. Children feel a strong inclination to keep watching screens for long periods of time leading to screen addiction. Parents should always keep an eye on their child’s screen time so as to stop their child from getting too attached or addicted to screen time.   Limiting screen time: Screen time for little ones must be limited to no more than 1 hour per day. But this does not mean they sit for that one hour at a stretch. The time must be split into shorter durations of 10-15 mins during the day. This will reduce the stress and strain on the little one’s eyes. Often children watch screens for long periods of time where their eyes are exposed to the screen’s blue light and all the bright colorful flashing lights on the screen. Such exposure is very harmful to children as they are also exposed to the device’s radiation. Limiting screen time will stop children from getting addicted to screen time which is a common sight in children today. Parents must be aware of the awful consequences of screen time on their children and take necessary steps to stop any kind of screen addiction. Allowing screen time does not mean that children can screen time right before their sleep time. They must not be allowed to watch screens at least 1-2 hours before bedtime as it disrupts their sleep at night.   Effects of screen time on a child’s mental health: Screen time can have significant side effects on a child’s physical and mental health. Watching screens for too long leads to insomnia,violent behavior, obesity in children and mental health issues like anxiety, depression, attention deficit, hyperactivity and more. Children lose their ability to pay attention to the world around them. They stop learning from the stimuli around them. They find it difficult to make social interactions with people around them. Reading books for example, would help a child to process the pictures, words and emotions that they see and hear, thereby helping them comprehend and understand whatever is being read to them. Children lose the ability to concentrate and focus on their daily activities and always seek entertainment in the form of screen time. They may not perform well in their academics as well. Children often lose their ability to think creatively and be imaginative if they are constantly exposed to outside entertainment in the form of screen time. In the absence of screen time, children observe the world around them, their surroundings and learn to explore and learn through free play time. Children learn the most by observing human interactions. Screen time takes this away from them leading to the inability of children to learn and regulate human emotions, feelings and empathy. They lack social skills that are so crucial for their entire lifetime. In the absence of screen time, a child’s brain develops in the way it is meant to develop and its benefits last a lifetime. A child will not be able to learn how to control their own emotions, read other’s emotions and struggle to make social interactions and play with their peers. The emotional health of the child is affected due to excessive exposure to screens. Research Failure of parents to guide their child by limiting or even eliminating screen time will impact the child’s overall development and health adversely. Relationships between family members are directly affected because of screen addiction. Family rules like no TV in the bedrooms, no screens during meal times, during car travel can help build healthy family relationships.

Food is the most integral and basic part of our lives. And, childhood is the phase in life where healthy eating habits are developed through exposure to different kinds of food, textures, colours, flavours, and aromas. Parents, especially mothers or primary caregivers have a major influence on a child’s eating habits. For this reason, it is imperative that they are well informed about the importance of healthy eating habits.   Reasons to inculcate healthy eating habits: Healthy eating habits includes not just eating all kinds of vegetables and fruits, but also includes eating home-cooked food. This doesn’t mean that all home cooked meals are healthy. Deep fried foods, heavy use of refined oils, use of high salt and sugar in the meal preparation are very unhealthy. Healthy way of cooking ensures the vegetables are cooked in the right way. For instance, steam or boil and pan-fry vegetables instead of deep frying them. Home cooked meals are made with much care as hygiene is maintained whilst preparing meals (washing/cleaning vegetables or fruits properly, cooking in clean and tidy environment and utensils). This ensures maximum nutrition being given to your child. Your child’s immune system is still developing and needs maximum amount of nutrition in their everyday meals.   The role of nutritious food in a child’s diet: Nutrition is very crucial during the early years of every child. Afterall, we are what are surroundings are, aren’t we? Parents or primary caregivers play a key role in shaping the eating habits of a child. They are the role models for everything – personality traits, character, habits, behaviours, language and more. And therefore, parents and primary caregivers need to follow healthy eating habits so that the child also learns to eat nutritious food. Nutritional meals include properly cleaned and well cooked vegetables in various forms; fruits that are locally sourced, cleaned well and added to the child’s diet; healthy snacks that are prepared at home and so on. Deep frying foods on a regular basis is unhealthy as the food loses all its nutritional value. Fruits must be thoroughly washed and given by cutting them into pieces or as it is to retain maximum nutrition. Fruit juices are not as healthy as they have high sugar content but can be given occasionally. Adopting healthy eating habits during childhood ensures the child continues to make healthy food choices for the rest of their life. It does take a lot of effort to prepare home cooked meals but by planning ahead, and involving the child in the meal preparation, it can be a fun time to bond well with each other and develop a sense of shared responsibility. Children are more likely to eat healthy when they are involved in the meal preparation that includes going to the farmer’s market to get fresh vegetables and fruits, washing them and helping out wherever they can. This also makes it a wonderful family time as well. Lack of nutrition leads to loss of immunity that directly impacts the overall health of a child. Parents who ensure their child eats nutritional food are the ones who are laying a strong foundation for their child’s health for a lifetime! A healthy child is a happy child who grows up to be a healthy individual with strong immunity.   Growth and development according to age: Healthy eating habits ensure that your child gets all the valuable nutrition that is required for their growth and development. It helps them grow well and meet their developmental milestones as they grow at a rapid pace in their early years. It helps them develop a healthy relationship with food so that they grow up to make healthy food choices in life. Fast food is the biggest threat to a child’s physical and mental health. In the absence of healthy home cooked nutritious meals, the child tends to crave for and love the tasty junk foods that have zero nutritional value.   Protection against several diseases and illnesses: The world we live in is ever changing and we are witnesses to a pandemic that we never imagined would strike us in such a horrific way! Having a strong immunity goes a long way when such life threating viruses or diseases emerge in our environment. Immunity is built over time and the ones who have had healthy eating habits from their childhood benefit to a great extent. Their bodies are better prepared to fight the illnesses. Parents and primary caregivers must take responsibility to provide nutritious healthy home cooked meals on a day-to-day basis.   To provide better mental health: Research on the relationship between child’s diet and mental health has proved that there is indeed a strong connection between the two. Children whose diet includes healthy nutritious food are less susceptible to mental health issues like anxiety, depression and more. This makes it all the more essential for parents and primary caregivers to ensure that their child is given the most nutritious food that includes vegetables, fruits, nuts and so on. Depriving them of healthy nutritious home cooked food will directly impact not just the child’s physical health but also their mental wellbeing.   Healthy Fast-food options It is impossible to keep children away from fast food completely. They are exposed to it in their surroundings and they do feel the need to try it out. For this reason, fast food or junk food can be given to your child but do it occasionally and in moderation. You can also swap ingredients to make delicious fast food at home. For instance, you can make grill or air fried sweet potatoes instead of French fries. You can swap sugar with jaggery, you can make healthy ice cream at home without any artificial preservatives, colours, or unhealthy sweeteners. Swap refined oils with ghee, butter to add nutritional value to your child’s diet. Include eggs, meat, paneer, make healthy pizzas with whole wheat flour. Swap refined flour with whole wheat flour or oats flour or almond flour.