What is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week?
National Children’s Mental Health Awareness week spans May 1st through May 7th, seeking to raise awareness about the importance of children’s mental health while urging that positive mental health is imperative to a child’s healthy development. Positive mental health refers to good functioning in individual and social domains as well as the presence of positive emotions.
Children’s mental health.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “ADHD, behavior problems, anxiety, and depression are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children” (2021). In fact, approximately 9.4% of children ages 2-17 have received an ADHD diagnosis; 7.4% of children ages 3-17 have been diagnosed with a behavioral problem; 7.1% of children ages 3-17 have an anxiety diagnosis; 3.2% of children 3-17 have been diagnosed with depression (CDC, 2021). Mental health in childhood means meeting emotional and developmental milestones, learning healthy social skills, and being able to cope when there are problems (CDC, 2021). The presence of mental health problems indicate difficulty in these domains as children grow and develop which may manifest in the form of behavioral problems and visible emotional distress.
How to help.
Childhood mental disorders can be treated and managed by mental health professionals. Psychiatrists can evaluate children, identify presenting problems and diagnoses, develop a treatment plan, and prescribe medication to help children manage their symptoms. It is important that parents or caretakers be involved in the treatment process for the best outcomes. Involving teachers, therapists, coaches, and other family members can bolster a child’s support network in a way that accommodates for and works with their needs.
Resource.
- Mental Health America – provides more educational content related to children’s mental health as well as a multitude of resources for parents to refer to.
Reference
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Data and statistics on children’s Mental Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html