World Mental Health Day: Challenges, Frustrations, and Disappointments

by in-house clinician Dr. John Barona

As parents, it is our job to teach our kids a number of things. One of those things is to teach our kids at a young age to deal with challenges, frustrations, and disappointments. They will experience these three things many times throughout their lives. Here are some ways that parents can help their children navigate through this.

Life will always be a challenge for kids, and they must know how to deal with things. Parents can help their kids deal with challenges by allowing them to make mistakes and learn from them. You also need to encourage problem-solving skills and provide support to them.

To help them deal with frustrations, parents should be aware that the child learns how to deal with frustration by watching how the parent acts when frustrated. If the parents yell or if they throw things when frustrated, the child will learn to do the same thing. The parent needs to help the child recognize their feelings and explain to them that being frustrated is normal. Teach them a deep breathing exercise to help them learn to calm themselves down or take a walk in the backyard.

Disappointments help shape a child’s emotional, intellectual, and social development. Parents need to be there to comfort them, but not to try to get rid of the disappointing feeling.  The parent’s job is to teach the child and explain to them that life is not fair, and everything is not going to go their way. Acknowledge that it feels bad, and that the situation doesn’t seem fair. Let them talk, listen to them, and don’t try to fix anything.

Dr. John Barona Ed.D., NCC, LCPC