Mother’s Day
Children’s Mental Health and Creating a Safe Space in an Era Where Bullying Is Not a Small Matter
Mother’s Day is a day when many people take the opportunity to express their love and gratitude to their mothers and to remember the sacrifices of the woman who has cared for them since the very beginning of their lives. But from another perspective, Mother’s Day can also be an opportunity to reflect more deeply on what the word “mother” truly means—beyond love and gratitude.
For Dr. Joy, being a mother does not simply mean giving birth. A mother can also be the first safe place in a child’s life—someone a child should feel they can always return to when they are tired, hurt, confused, or wounded by the outside world.
A Child’s Health Is About More Than the Body
When we talk about children’s health, many people think of nutrition, sleep, growth, illness, or physical immunity. But in reality, there is another equally important part of health: mental health.
A child may appear physically healthy, go to school every day, and live a seemingly normal life, while internally struggling with pressure, fear, loneliness, or feelings of worthlessness.
This can be especially challenging during the teenage years, when children increasingly begin to see themselves through the eyes of their friends, society, and the online world.
Teasing, being excluded from a group, repeated harassment, public humiliation at school, or cyberbullying may seem insignificant to some adults. But for a child, these experiences can become deep emotional wounds that affect their confidence, education, relationships, and the way they see themselves.
Bullying Is Not “Just Kids Being Kids”
In the past, some people may have viewed teasing or bullying at school as something normal, or as an experience children simply needed to become strong enough to endure.
But from the perspective of both physical and mental health, bullying should never be ignored. Verbal and emotional abuse can cause real harm.
Bullying can take many forms, including:
- Making fun of someone’s appearance, body shape, skin color, weight, or personality
- Mocking someone’s financial situation, family, or social background
- Using words that make someone feel inferior or worthless
- Deliberately excluding someone from a group
- Publicly humiliating someone online
- Using physical violence or threats
What is particularly concerning is that many children do not feel comfortable telling adults what is happening. They may be afraid of being seen as weak, worry that adults will not believe them, or fear that the situation will become worse if adults intervene.
That is why the role of mothers, fathers, teachers, and other adults is not simply to wait until a child asks for help. It begins with creating an environment where children feel confident that if they speak, someone will listen without judging them.
Home Should Be a Safe Place, Not Another Testing Ground
Many children already face pressure from school, friends, exams, social expectations, and the online world.
If they return home only to face criticism, comparisons, or expectations without having space to express their feelings, home can become another place where they do not feel safe enough to rest their hearts.
This Mother’s Day, Dr. Joy would like to encourage every family to ask their children simple questions, such as:
“Are you tired today?”
“Is there anything that is making you feel uncomfortable or upset?”
“Did anyone say or do something that hurt your feelings?”
“If anything happens, you can always tell Mom.”
These questions may seem simple, but for a child who feels alone, they can be the first door that gives them the courage to tell the truth.
A Mother’s Love Is Emotional Immunity
From the perspective of a science-based Thai traditional medicine practitioner, Dr. Joy believes that good health comes from a balance of the body, mind, behavior, and environment.
Children do not grow well simply because they receive good nutrition or proper physical care. They also need to grow in an environment where they feel safe, valued, and accepted.
A mother’s love can therefore act as a form of emotional immunity—something that reminds a child that even if the outside world is not always kind, there is still a home, an embrace, and someone who believes that they have value.
But healthy love does not mean protecting children from every problem so that they never have to face the world.
Healthy love means helping children know that when they face difficulties, they do not have to face them alone.
Every Adult Can Help Reduce Violence
Bullying and violence in schools are not the responsibility of one family alone. They are issues that require the attention of society as a whole.
Schools must be safe spaces. Teachers need the tools to recognize and support children who are struggling. Parents need to listen. And children need to be taught to respect differences in others.
There are things every adult can begin doing today:
- Do not dismiss bullying as “just a joke.”
- Do not tell a child to “just put up with it” without first listening to them.
- Pay attention to changes in behavior, such as becoming quieter, not wanting to go to school, having trouble sleeping, or experiencing noticeable mood changes.
- Teach children that being strong does not mean enduring pain alone. It also means having the courage to ask for help.
- Teach children not to hurt others and not to remain silent when they see someone else being hurt.
This Mother’s Day, May Every Home Be a Place to Rest the Heart
Mother’s Day should not be only about giving jasmine flowers or saying words of appreciation.
It can also be a day when we ask ourselves:
Is our home a place where children feel safe enough to tell the truth?
Do the children in our home feel that they are valuable, even when they make mistakes?
And do we listen to them enough?
Every child deserves at least one place in life where they do not have to pretend to be strong.
A place where they do not have to fear judgment.
A place where they never have to feel alone.
This Mother’s Day, Mhor Joy would like to send love and encouragement to every mother, as well as to every child who may be quietly facing pressure or emotional pain.
May every home be a safe place.
May every school be a place that protects rather than harms.
And may a mother’s love be the beginning of good mental health for every child.
With care and concern,
Mhor Joy
Science-Based Thai Traditional Medicine Practitioner
