Mental health issues in children. It has been a rise in mental health
issues in children and adolescents since the Covid pandemic. I have
certainly noticed a change in my son during and after covid. He lost
that sparkle in his eye for school. He once cared about his grades but
has lost motivation. From what I understand, it is not just him. I have
spoken to other parents who have given feedback on the same issues.
One of the articles I read gave a list of signs of a child needing to be
assessed by a professional.
The following signs may indicate the need for professional help:
https://www.mhanational.org/recognizing-mental-health-problems-
children
• A decline in school performance
• Poor grades despite strong efforts
• Constant worry or anxiety
• Repeated refusal to go to school or to take part in everyday
activities
• Hyperactivity or fidgeting
• Persistent nightmares
• Persistent disobedience or aggression
• Frequent temper tantrums
• Depression, sadness, or irritability
Parents are usually the first line of help for a child suffering from
mental health issues, but there is a rise in adults with mental health
issues, and before they can help, most times, they have to have their
mental health in order.
Children need to be heard. They need to feel like it's ok to share their
feelings and not be stigmatized or judged for having certain feelings.
Parents should be able to identify what their children need. For
instance, nutritious food, in-season clothing, stability, and feeling safe
in their environment contribute to a child's emotional and mental
health. Good mental health helps children develop socially, think
clearly, and learn. Adults must help children develop self-worth, high
self-esteem, and a healthy outlook. When the above scenarios are not
met this is when human services professionals would have to be there
to help a child get back to a place of hemostasis, they may have to
help a child who may have been abused seek out counseling, they
may have to help a child with skills to find self-confidence in some
situations they may have to remove a child who needs a more
therapeutic environment to get back to a functional mental health
place. The earlier the intervention to help a child, the better below is
a list of suggested
https://www.mhanational.org/what-every-child-needs-good-mental-
health
A Child's Physical And Mental Health Are Both
Important.
Basics for a child's good physical health:
• Nutritious food
• Adequate shelter and sleep
• Exercise
• Immunizations
• Healthy living environment
Basics for a child's good mental health:
• Unconditional love from family
• Self-confidence and high self-esteem
• The opportunity to play with other children
• Encouraging teachers and supportive caretakers
• Safe and secure surroundings
• Appropriate guidance and discipline
The second article discussed children and families suffering from
increased mental health issues after Covid. The article talks about
how the shocks of Covid will have effects for years. The pandemic
posed a risk to mental health. It was profoundly felt around the world
the pandemic affected the world around us, and the other article
discussed how one's environment could significantly affect emotional
and mental health. The world was in a crisis families were broken up,
connections were lost, and so many lost their jobs, and their life as
they knew it changed.
"In truth, it will be years before we can assess the impact of COVID-
19 on our mental health. For even if the potency of the virus fades,
the pandemic's economic and social impact will linger: over the
fathers and mothers who thought they had left the worst of times
behind them but are once again struggling to put food in a baby's
bowl; over the boy falling behind in school after months of disrupted
learning."
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED615261.pdf
https://www.unicef.org/media/108126/file/SOWC-2021-Latin-
America-and-the-Caribbean-regional-brief.pdf
because investing in the mental health of our children and young
adults is essential for decision-makers and family members to bring
awareness to these issues. Persons often go undiagnosed because of
the stigma and misunderstanding of their feelings. So they remain in
silence eventually. These factors increase the need for human
services professionals because I feel. Eventually, a person suffering
from depression or mental health issues will break if they don't seek
help; this is when a human services professional will have to find the
person the needed services to be ok mentally and emotionally.
Human services professionals should be there to:
" evaluate a client's needs, create a treatment plan, and implement
the plan. Throughout the process, they provide clients with emotional
support. Working closely with the client, human service workers
identify problems and create a plan for services to help the client
solve these problems."
https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2011/fall/art03.pdf
Below is a link to further information.
https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html
