As virtual learning and social distancing disrupt children’s “normal” routines, and general uncertainty surrounding COVID leads to increased anxiety and depression, how can parents positively impact their child’s mental health? With the FREE Happy Child parenting app.
Building Deep Bonds
The Human Improvement Project is a research-based, non-profit organization. Their mission is to “fund programs that show strong scientific evidence of having the largest positive impact on children.” Through extensive scientific research, they were able to focus on a few key factors that had the greatest impacts on children’s immediate and long-term well-being. From that research, they developed educational materials to help parents and made them accessible to the public.
And thus, The Happy Child app was born.
“I really believe that this is the most significant thing that could help kids,” co-founder Matt Larson, who has dedicated copious amounts of his own personal resources and time to develop the app, tells Parentology.
“Deep bonds really matter,” Larson states. The Human Improvement Project’s research has shown that one of the primary factors that determine if a child will have long-term well-being is their connection and bond with safe people. During this time of isolation, those bonds may be challenged or threatened. “The most important thing parents can do both in COVID and just for the long-term well-being of their child is to understand how to build a deep bond with your child and how to learn those skills and practice those skills.”
The Happy Child app is designed to help parents do just that. The educational material is presented in a modular form and includes short videos and quizzes that help parents understand the brain science that contributes to their child’s long-term well-being and happiness.
Beyond understanding the concepts, The Happy Child provides parents with tactile, actionable items that they can easily implement into their lives. The idea was to give parents a free, easy way to implement tools that would have the greatest impact on their children’s well-being.
What Parents Say
Users have reported overwhelmingly positive results. First off, the app is free and there is no advertising.
- Over 98% of users report actively using the concepts
- Over 78% said they had better relationships with their partner or children
- 67% claimed that “the lessons have changed my life”
Research shows that a sense of belonging within a family is something that has been hardwired in human’s brains as we’ve evolved as a species. More specifically, it comes down to chemicals released in the brain that ultimately determine a child’s long-term well-being, happiness, and their ability to make positive life choices.
The good news is that parents can impact the connection they have with their children and, in turn, positively affect the chemicals in the brain that contribute to long-term happiness. Likewise, Larson believes this focus on children’s mental well being will also provide greater long-term benefits.
“It will help them [during] COVID, but the effects on the rest of their life is much more significant than during this period,” he says.
Get The Happy Child Parenting App in the Apple Store or Google Play Store.
Related Stories
7 Strategies for Staying Close to Your Teen
Great Ideas for Bonding with Your Teenage Daughter
WATCH: Viral Video of Baby and Dad Bonding Over TV a Teaching Moment
The Happy Child Parenting App — Sources
Matt Larson, Mental Health Researcher, Co-Founder of Human Improvement Project
Human Improvement Project