It’s officially September when young children are putting their backpacks on to head back to school. With the recent news of a Georgia school shooting, parents and educational staff must protect their children’s mental health now more than ever. One of the most important groups to look after is young girls. There are various ways how to improve mental health in schools so these educational institutions could be a safer place for them to go to. Let’s examine how schools can do more to improve and promote mental health awareness for girls in schools.
What are Ways Schools Can Improve Mental Health?
We are living in difficult times where a lot of children are bombarded with social media. While this tool does have its positives such as keeping up with friends, it also has its negatives. Becoming too engrossed with social media sites such as Instagram, Tick Tock, and Facebook has affected many young girls’ self-esteem. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways schools can do better to support the mental health of students, including young girls.
One way is by strengthening the environment of their educational institutions. The faculty and staff have to take the time to develop policies that could help reduce any form of bullying, whether it’s in person or virtual. There should be some open conversations between students and families about mental health. It’s also important that educators be attentive to the changes in a student’s behavior.
How Can Teachers Help Female Students’ Mental Health?
Teachers could also do their part in being aware of any of their student’s emotional state. But it’s especially important for young girls. As young female students grow into teenagers, they start to feel more pressure to fit in or look and act a certain way. They are going through emotional changes such as depression and anxiety at this age. Their teachers are normally the first people to notice changes in their behavior. It’s vital for a teacher who notices these alarming signs to take action quickly to get that student the help they need. They could do this by referring the student to several mental health resources available. The outcome of the situation will turn out to be great when a teacher acts quickly.
What Can Young Girls Do to Help Their Mental Health?
While the faculty and staff could help a lot to support a student going through mental health issues, the student herself must be willing to help herself. A young girl could do a lot to help her mental health. She could try reaching out more for help to a trusted adult such as a teacher, counselor, nurse, social worker, or psychologist. All young girls must know that it’s okay to let people know that they’re not feeling like themselves. Most young girls may feel ashamed or afraid to let people know that they’re unhappy. But in the end, they’ll be only hurting themselves by keeping their true feelings to themselves.
Improving Mental Health Awareness for Young Girls
So how can schools help with mental health? With so many school shootings occurring throughout the years, mental health awareness must be more promoted in our educational buildings. One of the most important people that could benefit from this is young girls. They are under intense pressure to fulfill this expectation of perfection, whether it’s improving their appearance or getting high grades. It’s vital that a trusted adult, whether a teacher or a counselor, is there to help them get through their emotional issues and provide mental health resources for them. However, a teacher could also be instrumental in promoting positive self-esteem for young girls by teaching them skills to resolve conflicts and remind them of their strengths. This goes a long way in improving and promoting mental health awareness for young girls.
Do you have a young daughter in school? Do you notice any changes in her behavior? Is your daughter’s school doing anything to promote mental health awareness? Feel free to share your thoughts on this issue in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next mother of a young girl that you know.
