From the 2012 Campaign!
About Your Child's Mental Health
It's easy to know your child needs help dealing with a fever or a broken bone, but mental health problems can be harder to identify. The tricky part of parenting is knowing the kinds of behaviors and moods that are usual for the stage of development your child is in - and when your child has gone beyond the norm and needs help. Download our new Family Resource Kit for information on your childs mental health.
Is My Child in Trouble?If you think there's more going on than the natural phases of growth and development, ask yourself these questions:
- Is my child's behavior normal for his or her age?
- Is the behavior severe enough to get in the way of daily activities?
- Does the problem occur frequently?
- Does the behavior last for long periods of time?
Effective treatment is available for children's mental health problems, which include depression and anxiety; conduct, eating and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders; as well as relationship difficulties and grief.
You should consult with a health professional if you see these kinds of circumstances with your child:
- Feelings of sadness and hopelessness without good reason, and the feelings don't go away.
- Extreme fearfulness - unexplained fears or more fears than most children.
- Anger that persists or occurs most of the time; overreactions.
- Anxiety or expression of more or greater worries than most other young people.
- Deterioration of school performance.
- Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities.
- Avoidance of friends and families.
- Discussions of suicide.
- Hears voices that cannot be explained.
- Changes in sleeping and eating habits.
- Poor concentration or difficulty sitting still or listening.
- Needs to perform the same routines repeatedly.