According to Mental Health America, a website provided by the National Mental Health Association, the mental health of children is an important component of overall health and well-being. Depression is one mental health problem that can affect children, and Mental Health America suggests that building up a child's strengths, protecting her from risks, and giving her tools to succeed are effective strategies for promoting positive mental health. Exercise is one tool that can help to ease symptoms of depression in children.
Self-Esteem
Children who experience symptoms of depression can also suffer from low self-esteem, and Mental Health America encourages physical activity as an important way to off-set the negative emotions associated with depression. Exercise boosts self-confidence, which also boosts self-esteem as a child discovers that she is capable of doing many different things. Exercise also works to reduce symptoms of depression by improving mood and enabling a child to feel better about life and about herself.
Physical Well-Being
Healthy Children reports that many children experiencing symptoms of depression also suffer from physical symptoms including headache, stomach ache, chest pain, and fatigue. It may be hard to motivate children who do not feel physically well to get up and exercise, but regular activity can help ease the symptoms of depression as well as the physical complaints that often accompany depression. According to Mental Health America, the physiological well-being of depressed children can improve significantly with regular exercise.
Social Skills
Depressed children often shy away from social situations and withdraw from friends and family, says Healthy Children. Exercise can help to ease social avoidance by teaching a child self-control, problem- solving skills, and how to get along with peers, reports Mental Health America. Many forms of exercise involve interaction with other children, and children suffering from symptoms of depression may experience an improvement when they become part of a team. Feeling valuable, special, and important can boost mood and help to alleviate depression.
School Work
According to Healthy Children, depressed children often experience a decline in grades and interest in doing well at school. Exercise can help to motivate a child to try her best by increasing self-confidence and making a child feel better about herself. Children experiencing symptoms of depression often suffer at school because intellectual development relies on good mental health, says Mental Health America. Exercise improves a child's ability to learn new things by increasing overall mental health and promoting a positive outlook on school experiences and life in general.
