Parenthood is a blessing!
However, the present times are challenging. Even if the parents struggle to meet two ends, they will do their best to provide the child with whatever they have asked for. While it takes a lot of physical and financial toll on the parents, the children, on the other hand, receive the message that they are entitled to get whatever they demand. Later on, if at any point in time, they are refused something, they resort to throwing tantrums as they are unable to accept a no. Therefore, parents must consciously decide whether they should give gifts to pamper their children or whether their children really require those items.
Nowadays, we see a steep increase in the number of young students needing help to tackle their mental health issues. Several factors contribute to children’s poor mental health, such as too much abundance, parents not being able to give time to their children, nuclear families and most importantly not being heard by parents. Parents need to give time to their children and give them the confidence that they are there for their children and the child can confide in them no matter what he has gone through! Even if the child has done something wrong, they should always have the confidence that they can fall back on their parents.
There is another aspect of the environment that children are growing up in nowadays: the availability of abundant information. Children are constantly on some screen or the other which is giving them information. There needs to be someone to monitor the credibility of this information. While gathering information and thereby knowledge is essential, applying the knowledge is even more critical. Social media plays an important role as, their thoughts and actions are sometimes a reflection of something that they might have watched on social media. At times one wonders why a child is behaving in a certain manner that is unexpected of him/her.
To tackle these problems, we need many mental health workers, therapists, and counselors to recognize and address these growing issues among children. I am glad that Symbiosis International University has started the Symbiosis Centre for emotional well-being which provides counsellors as therapists on each campus. It has also started a child development centre for school children. Symbiosis has started one of the first of its kind programmes in the country, the BSc in Mental Health, where professionals are trained in community mental health who will then be available to the youth as counselors and guides.
Schools and Universities have an important role to play to tackle mental health issues. Along with providing counsellors the involvement of parents is equally important. So is the importance of physical exercise, coupled with yoga and meditation as they say a healthy mind has to rest in a healthy body.
It is important for all of us to realise the importance of mental health issues and not stigmatise it. In fact, it is best to tackle this problem by providing a space for young people to talk and express! Together we should build a resilient future for our young population!