Rates of stress, anxiety and emotional challenges among children and adolescents continue to rise. Parents, caregivers and educators are looking for practical, evidence-based strategies that go beyond crisis response and instead help children build resilience, confidence and a sense of belonging. Research from positive psychology suggests that focusing on strengths, relationships and daily habits can play a powerful role in supporting mental health and well-being.

It’s a timely topic for Rhea Owens, PhD, professor of psychology at the College of Education and Human Services Professions at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD).

Owens is interested in preventing mental health concerns and promoting mental health and well-being in children, with a particular focus on positive psychology. Her work explores how everyday environments — especially families and schools — can strengthen children’s mental health before concerns escalate. She is also interested in how people can integrate positive parenting and school-based mental health services and support.

We spoke with Dr. Owens about the top questions she receives around children’s mental health and positive parenting.

Q&A on children’s mental health and positive parenting with Dr. Rhea Owens

Q: What is positive psychology?
A: "Positive psychology involves the scientific study of strengths, well-being, and optimal human functioning."  

Q: What does it mean to proactively promote children’s mental health and well-being, and how is that different from responding once problems arise?
A: "Being proactive means we are intentionally doing things to help children be happy and healthy before challenges arise, versus responding and attempting to reduce concerns once they have already appeared. Adults can do this by facilitating positive activities and experiences, as well as providing appropriate supervision and involvement. For instance, adults can provide opportunities for children to connect with those they care about and express unconditional love; they can encourage and model showing kindness and expressing gratitude; and they can create fun and engaging experiences to elicit shared joy."

Q: How can parents and caregivers support children’s well-being in everyday life?
A: “An important way caregivers can support children’s well-being in everyday life is by providing positive, undivided attention for approximately 15 minutes each day. Connect, show love and appreciation, and spend quality time together. Parents can also model or show children how they as adults find happiness and fill their cups. For instance, parents can help family, friends, and strangers; they can volunteer, or do small acts of kindness in their child’s presence and even ask their child to join in. Parents can express gratitude to those around them for big and small things daily. Parents can also provide specific, positive praise for things their children do well, including using their strengths.”

Q: How can schools promote students’ mental health and well-being beyond counseling or mental health services?
A: “An important way schools can promote mental health and well-being is by adopting and implementing school-wide social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum to teach self- and emotion-regulation, coping skills, and well-being strategies.”

Q: How do children’s strengths—such as kindness, perseverance or curiosity—support their mental health and resilience?
A: “Strengths support mental health and resilience by giving people the opportunity to use skills or positive traits they possess to address their challenges. For instance, if a person is experiencing anxiety, they may use their strength of creativity to come up with an effective way to cope or solve a challenge. In addition to reducing mental health concerns, strengths also have the added benefit of enhancing well-being, which is a separate and distinct positive outcome.”

Q: What can children do to enhance their own well-being, at home or at school?
A: “My answer for children is also applicable to all of us: some of the best ways to enhance well-being are to express and identify things you are grateful for, focus your energy on positive relationships, and use your strengths.”

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