The rise in children seeking help for their mental health has been hitting the headlines over recent years.
With more young people struggling with their mental health and wellbeing, parents can feel like they are facing an impossible situation.
Early intervention is one of the key ways in which we can help support children and finding new ways to do so can be key to helping them learn coping strategies to better manage stress and distressing emotions that can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed.
And there is confusion about what we should be eating as rules seem to change all the time, childhood obesity hits an all-time high and it’s hard to know what the ‘correct’ portion size is for a child of ten.
We talk to Dr Catherine Frogley, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia, about whether the food kids eat has an impact on their mental health and how we can improve overall mood and perspective and ask her whether the food kids eat really has a knock-on effect on their mood and mental health.
“The brain is an active organ, which requires lots of energy, nutrients and hydration to function optimally. Therefore, we know that when a child is not getting the right vitamins, minerals and energy from their food, this has a physical impact on their mind and body.
Individuals with compromised nutrition are less flexible in their thinking, more anxious and are at increased risk for anxiety, depression and dementia. Furthermore, research has shown that eating certain types of food can promote good brain health and mood,” she says.
Dr Frogley says that one of the most important things we can do for children is help them to have a positive relationship with food.
“What we mean by that is that children feel safe around food and are willing to explore new foods,” she says.
“And remember, food is not just about nutrition. It is also a huge part of our social, cultural and religious world and therefore enjoying food within the company of others is equally important.”
But while it may be important to encourage kids and teens to have a positive, lifelong relationship with food, how can parents actually go about doing that?
“Firstly, children learn through what we do, not what we say,” Dr Froelgy says.
“With this in mind, we need to show our children what a healthy relationship with food looks like. So consider how do you talk about food in front of your children? Do you label foods being ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Do you talk about having ‘cheat days’? Do you show interest and curiousty in new foods? Or do you feel anxious about trying or eating particular foods?”
It is important for parents to send a message to children that there are no good or bad foods, but rather different foods provide us with different things, while encouraging them to feel comfortable exploring new foods.
But are there specific foods that can negatively impact on their mood? Dr Frogley says not, but also cautions: “We know that compromised nutrition and inadequate hydration does impact our mood negatively. We also know from research that high levels of caffeine and sugar can also have a detrimental impact on our overall brain health.”
And on the flip side, when questioning which food gas a positive impact on mood, Frogley explains that the most important thing is to ensure that kids have a nutritionally adequate diet in terms of nutrients, energy and hydration, adding: “In addition to this, we know that certain foods have been found to increase serotonin (the happiness hormone) in the brain and lower the risk of depression (and dementia). This includes diets rich in fibre, diverse food plants, nuts, beans and legumes, herbs and spices and fatty fish.”
As a clinical psychologist specialising in family mental health, Dr Frogley points out how important it is to teach children about mental health from a young age, and explains how to do that.
“We all have mental health just as we all have physical health. So just as you teach your child to brush their teeth every evening to prevent cavaties, we also want to teach our children ways to protect their mental health,” she says.
“You can do this by talking about feelings within the family home, modelling ways in which they can express and manage their feelings and by supporting them to find ways they look after their own mental health.”
Dr Frogley also advises against using food and treats to reward good behaviour in a child.
“I would recommend that parents do not use food to reward or punish their children, she says.
“It immediately places food in the context of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ which can lead to a difficult relationship with food later in life e.g. I can only eat this if I have earnt it. It also means that the food used as a reward, which is typically are more pleasurable but high fat / high sugar foods, are seen as more appealing to children. Rewards and consequences are most effective when they are linked to the behaviour as it fosters intrinsic motivation e.g. wanting to do well in school because it feels good to achieve, as opposed to doing well to gain a reward for it,” Dr Frogley concludes.
