Tip #6: Caring and Nurture
Published: June 2021
Research shows that taking care of someone or something else has enormous effects on our own sense of agency and value. The idea that we can help nurture something into life adds such value to our own existence that it supports mental health and emotional wellbeing in a huge way.
Delayed gratification - Much research has also been undertaken on the importance of teaching our children to wait for things in life. Waiting patiently, delaying that gratifying feeling of having something, builds skills such as resilience, perseverance and calmness.
Creation/wonder of new life - awe and wonder are emotions that all children should have experience of feeling - often! These emotions help develop a sense of spirituality, of something greater than ourselves. They are humbling and help our mental health by encouraging a different perspective or viewpoint on the world around us and how we fit into it.
Transcript
Mental Health awareness Tip number 6!
This tip is about growing something. Growing something with your children is great fun.
It helps them to understand nurture, so we've talked about that before, it also helps them to understand delayed gratification, so it's not just going to happen overnight.
Really important for wellbeing and mental health.
Take a tomato.
Cut it in half.
Get your children to find the seeds inside.
Get some soil...
Pop the seeds in...
water...
place in a sunny spot after the frost...
and then just watch the tomatoes grow.
