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
must 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
