Mental health in adults has gained more publicity than mental health in children. Children experience behavioural problems at a certain time in their age. Some of these are results of developmental changes, family problems, environmental influence, and so on. To some children, this gets resolved with time, but to some, it degenerates to mental health issues.
It is important for parents to be very observant of the behavioural changes in their children and know when to act or seek help. Being actively involved in a child’s life can not be over emphasized.
It is okay for children to feel worried, angry, scared, or helpless in difficult times, but it is not okay for them to always feel low, overwhelmed, or struggling with something. Parents need to observe their children in moments like this, check if it happens often, where it happens (school or home) to be able to deduce what the possible cause or causes could be.
Ways to Support Children with Mental Disorder
- As an adult, look after your own mental health. An adult with a mental health challenge can not possibly support a child with the same challenge.
- Be involved in their life. Without this, parents will either not notice the deteriorating mental disorder, or they will find out too late.
- Give a listening ear. Everything children say makes meaning to them. Never take their words for granted. Read meaning into them and act when you should.
- Encourage them, their interests, and their passion. This way, they’ll stay connected to you, confide in you, and trust you.
- Engage them in positive routines. Create time for them, support them to do what makes them happy, and help them stay positive always.
- Support them during challenging period. Sometimes, children face challenges in class with friends, teachers, and classmates, which they bottle up and deal with internally.
- Play with them. Crack jokes and make them feel light of their worries.
- Make out time for face to face talk. Look into their eyes and assure them that they’ll be fine.
- Indulge them in outdoor games, fun activities, site seeing, lunch, or dinner and encourage them to do the good that appeals to their mind.
- Share your experience with them, that of others, and make them realize they’re not alone.
While it is important to support children’s mental health, it is more important to help them understand their feelings and learn how to manage it as they grow up. Little things might trigger mental issues, and like they say, prevention is better than cure.
Mental disorders in children may begin from anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder, mood disorder, depression, eating disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), poor stress management etc. It is important for parents to be able to distinguish between emotions that are normal or developmental and those that should be a cause of concern. When a disturbing situation persists for long, when it causes serious distress and when it affects their performance in school or at home or elsewhere. Again, when children are in constant emotions, throw tantrums frequently, have steady fear or worries, repeat actions, lose interest in making friends, have frequent nightmares, lose sleep or sleep too much, lose interest in the things they used to like and so on. Generally, when there are significant changes in their behaviour and when these changes persist longer than necessary, actions must be taken to prevent or to treat them.
It is also important for parents to involve their children’s school, their health care professionals, and to ask questions, do periodic assessment and evaluation, and determine which intervention strategy would work better for a particular child.
Mental disorders in children can be managed and treated. Parents, teachers, and health professionals should work closely in identifying, assessing, and finding solutions to this, and doing so on time.
Mental health is not the absence of mental disorders. Children, whether diagnosed with mental disorders or not, exhibit mental strengths and weaknesses in different coping capacities. Being mentally healthy during childhood is an indication of attaining developmental and emotional milestones in learning healthy social skills and coping mechanisms in times of distress. Every child must seek to attain this, and every parent, teacher, carer, and health professional must get involved to help children achieve this.
Amara Ann Unachukwu
