My Child is Skin-Conscious: What Can I Do About It?

In an era where image is given more importance than ever before, especially because of social media, looking “perfect” is something many people strive for.

Even children.

And for children with skin conditions such as eczema, this idea of maintaining a certain image can weigh heavily on them. According to NationalEczema, “living with eczema can be downright challenging on our emotional well-being. Anxiety and stress are common triggers that cause eczema to flare up, which then creates more anxiety and stress, which then leads to more eczema flare-ups.” Furthermore, many other scientific studies or journals corroborate the fact that having eczema can affect children’s mental health.

With this being said, the first step to helping your child deal with this condition — apart from managing it on a physical level — is to recognize it for what it is. Contemporary Pediatrics says that “critical to helping children with the psychosocial issues potentially developing from skin diseases is first the recognition that skin diseases can and do cause much suffering in children, and this suffering can have negative consequences that carry into adulthood.”

How can parents help their children navigate this world of eczema with the hope that they can transition smoothly to adulthood, unscathed? Here are a few ideas.