Mental Health Awareness Month with Pediatrician Dr. Becca Bakke
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. At BIO Girls, we are committed to helping girls learn about and improve their mental wellness. In fact, mental wellness is one of the four key pillars of the BIO Girls program. During the month of May, BIO Girls Director of Programming and Research, Beth Salafia, will be discussing mental health and wellness topics that are relevant to parents and adolescents in our community.
Dr. Bakke has been a board-certified pediatrician for 11 years. She’s currently working at Sanford Health. She is a wife and mother to four kids including two BIO Girls.
This episode covers important information that parents should know about mental health and their children including the prevalence of mental illness and some possible strategies for preventing or helping cope with mental health problems.
See below for a few highlights and the link to the full episode.
Parents should make sure to take care of themselves.
“Parents need to take care of themselves too. Healthy parents equal healthy kids. You can’t pour from an empty cup….It’s okay to take time for yourself, it’s okay to go to bed early if you feel like you need that, or go for a run, or spend some time with your friends because you want them to feel like they can do that too.”
Three important strategies for preventing and/or helping with mental health issues include:
Sleep
Limiting Screens
Physical Activity
In order to thrive:
Practice Gratitude.
“What are three things you’re grateful for today? The more you’re thinking about that and talking about that, you’re looking for the positive and you’re thinking about the good in your life.
Fail Forward.
“Help your daughter to persevere through failures and disappointments…show them you’re not afraid of them failing…they look to you for how to deal with emotions.”
Remember Your Values.
“If you ask a parent what they want for their kids they will often say they want them to be kind to others, but if you survey kids about what they think their parents want for them, it’s usually regarding some form of achievement.”
Thank you, Dr. Bakke!