HOW WE LIVE MATTERS FOR YOU & YOUR KID’S MENTAL HEALTH

This week is Mental Health Week and this year’s theme is 'Where we live. How we live. What we've lived.' To celebrate, we’ve teamed up with our partners at Kumon to explore how you and your kids can emphasise positive mental health outcomes at home, at the track and in the classroom.

When it comes to the topic of ‘how we live’, being mindful of your physical and mental health is key. You can help build your child’s well-being and increase positive mental health outcomes by taking practical steps. Beyond Blue’s Mentally Healthy Communities report has identified that “supporting the physical health of children and young people can provide benefits for mental health.”

Social sports like Little Athletics gives young kids an opportunity to learn new social and emotional language, as well as experience new challenges that reinforce resilient behaviours.

Through celebrating and reinforcing positive outcomes, social sport can help build positive self-views and offers opportunities for young people to begin understanding how to interpret experiences they’ve lived.  Beyond Blues’ Learning Resilience Report reinforces the importance of building positive self-views in young people as evidence highlights "that positive self-views are associated with increased life satisfaction and ... decreased depression."

Therefore, much like being practical with your child’s physical health and progression, being proactive with your child’s educational journey can also provide positive self-views that promote mental health outcomes. This is where partners like Kumon can help.

Kumon’s programmes adapt to your child’s individual learning needs: it is designed to build resilience while developing your child's confidence to tackle challenges in the classroom. Kumon’s theory and practice of individualised learning and study at the ‘just-right’ level mean kids progress at their own speed and in their own time to ensure positive self-views. As a result, Kumon students build self-esteem, learn that they can do anything if they try, and develop the ability to take on new challenges for themselves.

To find out more about how Kumon's programmes can help your children achieve their goals and find your local Kumon Education Centre, click HERE.

To find out more about the Little Athletics program, click HERE.

Research quoted in this article was sourced from the Be You initiative, a project delivered by Beyond Blue, in collaboration with Early Childhood Australia and headspace. To read the resource, please click HERE.

For more information, contact Athletics West at admin@athleticswest.com.au or call 08 6272 0480.

This article is sponsored by Kumon Australia.

By David Smith, Athletics West
Posted: 13/10/2022