It’s Youth Mental Health Day!
Today is Youth Mental Health Day, and as a fostering agency for children across Yorkshire and the North East, we’re proud to support Stem4’s #StrideForward campaign to promote mental health awareness in young people! As foster carers, you know too well the importance of talking about mental health – but it’s not always so easy for your foster child to be open about their feelings. The team at Unity Foster Care have come up with 5 easy challenges you can give your foster child to help improve their mental wellbeing!
Get outdoors!
We’ve spent the past 18-months in lockdown, which has hugely impacted our mental health. Why not set yourselves a target to spend one afternoon a week outdoors? Even if it’s just a walk in the park, it still counts!
No phones!
On average, children spend 3.5 hours a day scrolling on social media. Excessive use of social media can be detrimental to their wellbeing, so try set your foster child a goal to limit their phone use in the evenings!
Keep a diary!
As much as you try to give your foster child a positive experience, being in care isn’t always easy. It’s completely natural for them to not talk about how they’re feeling – but by giving them an outlet, such as a diary, you can help your foster child process their emotions in a much healthier way!
Join a youth club!
If your foster child loves football, being active or expressing themselves creatively, a youth club might be the perfect option! Spending more time with like-minded people and finding a hobby is a great way to improve their physical and mental wellbeing, and gives them a weekly routine!
Exercise!
Without a doubt, exercise and a healthy diet is one of the BEST ways to improve your foster child’s physical and mental wellbeing! You don’t need to do a marathon every week, but keeping active by getting steps in and making exercise fun will help release those much-needed endorphins, and burn off some energy!
It’s important to support your foster child both physically and mentally, but sometimes it may be too difficult for them to open up about their mental health. By giving them fun challenges and tasks, you can help promote positive habits and #StrideForward this Youth Mental Health Day!
Interested in becoming a foster carer? Start your application now, or call 0333 77 22 333 to find out more!