Physical Health & Mental Health | Dr. Becca Bakke Interview
Physical health is a large factor in mental health.
Dr. Becca Bakke, a Pediatrian at Sanford Health, joins BIO Girls founder Missy Heilman for a conversation around physical health and how it affects mental health, specifically in our youth.
Dr. Bakke shares three simple tips that have a tremendous impact on promoting mental wellness in youth, and in adults:
Get good sleep
Eat healthy foods
Make time for physical activity
Check it out:
10 tips
How parents can help support positive social emotional development.
Be loving and nurturing: show affection.
Play the role of a teacher and help teach socioemotional skills and identifying emotions.
Be supportive – don’t do things for your child, but be there for them. In psychology, we call this scaffolding (think of scaffolding holding up a building).
Listen. Be respectful. Be responsive. Validate feelings, no matter how big or small.
Encourage problem solving.
Encourage new experiences.
Establish routines, to give a sense of consistency. If children know what’s happening, they feel more confident and secure.
Be a model. As a parent, YOU are your child’s greatest role model.
Aim for quality over quantity. If all you have is ten minutes, make it a great ten minutes totally devoted to your children.
No one can underestimate the value of play. Playing equals learning. Play, from infancy on, is the most valuable tool we have for our parent-child interactions and relationships. Play helps children build vocabulary, learn about emotions, interact, problem solve.