Mental health is a raging issue nowadays. Mental health problems will contribute significantly to the global burden of disease in the 21st century. While adults are often affected by mental illness, surprisingly this issue is quite common even among kids.

Mental illness can affect anyone regardless of their age, gender, or sex. But it is an even more pressing issue among kids because we often do not take kids seriously. Ignoring your kid's feelings and assuming his concerns to be unimportant can make him lose confidence.

Good parenting skills are of utmost importance to keep a child healthy both mentally and physically at a young age. Young children respond to emotional experience and traumatic events very differently from adults which may confuse even the parents and the signs of mental illness may go unnoticed for quite some time.

With the growing unsafe environment in which we are living, where crimes against children are on a rise, where bullying is common in schools, and separation among parents is common, your child is exposed to a number of risk factors.

The most common childhood mental disorders are anxiety disorders, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 

What’s even more unfortunate is that too many children and youth don’t get help soon enough. Mental health disorders can prevent children and youth from succeeding in school, from making friends or becoming independent from their parents. Children suffering from mental health disorders may have developmental issues too.

There are a limited child and adolescent mental health services in India. Mostly such services are available only in big cities and towns. 

How Common Are Mental Issues In Children

One in every 5 children has a mental health issue. The problem is severe because of the large gap in the healthcare facilities. Even WHO recognises that most people suffering from mental illness remain untreated even though treatment exists. 

The main problem is we are not able to detect the condition at an early stage. Prevention is better than cure. If we focus our attention more towards identification at an early age, we can prevent the problem from creeping into adulthood. Treatment in adults is much more expensive and complicated.

Also Read: How To Help Your Loved One Suffering From Depression

What Are The Causes Of Mental Illness In Children

How many of you have seen “Taare Zameen Par”. I bet most of you reading this must have seen it at least once. The movie accurately represents what most of us have faced as a kid- constant pressure from the parents to perform academically, comparison with your siblings, etc. 

While the times are changing and many parents are encouraging their child to do well in non-academic areas, still the scenario has not changed much.

Although parental pressure could be one probable cause no single definitive cause has been identified. Some factors could be:

• A long-term physical illness

• Genetic reason such as having a parent who has had mental health problems, problems with alcohol or has been in trouble with the law

• A traumatic experience such as the death of someone close 

• Separation or divorce between parents

• Severely bullied or physically or sexually abused

• Living in poverty or being homeless

• Discrimination because of their race, sexuality or religion

• Taking on adult responsibilities

• Long-standing educational difficulties.

Also Read: Foods That Can Cause Depression

Symptoms Of Mental Illness In Children

Although identifying a normal child from one who is suffering from a mental illness may not be so easy, there are some symptoms which can help you get an idea that something is wrong. If your child shows one or more of the following signs talk to him and find out what the problem is. 

• Having a negative outlook and saying negative things about himself, or blaming himself for things beyond his control.

• Trouble concentrating.

• Deteriorating school performance.

• Over-reacting in small situations.

• Seeming very unhappy, worried, guilty, fearful, irritable, sad, or angry.

• Feeling helpless, hopeless, lonely or rejected.

• Wanting to be alone often.

• Crying easily.

• Showing less interest in or withdrawing from sports, games or other activities that he normally enjoys.

• Trouble relaxing or sleeping. 

• Spending a lot of time daydreaming.

• Falling back to less mature behaviours.

• Trouble getting along with friends.

• Headaches, tummy aches, neck pain, or general aches and pains.

• Lacking energy, or feeling tired all the time.

• Eating disorder

• Frequent nightmares

• Avoids people; wants to be alone all of the time

• Hears voices or sees things that aren’t there

• Needs to wash, clean things, or perform certain rituals many times a day

• Talks about suicide or death

• Hurts other people or animals; or damages property

Remember that showing these signs does not mean that your child is definitely suffering from a mental illness, however, if the signs are severe consult a doctor to rule out this probability.

Also Read: How Stress Causes Weight Gain

How Parents Can Help In This Situation

Apart from getting medical help, parents can also help in improving the condition.

1. Help the child build strong and caring relationships with you and with the rest of the family. Spend quality time with your child every day. Being consistently present in your child’s life helps him develop resilience. The child will also find it easier to come to you when he faces a problem.

2. Make your child feel good about himself and help him develop self-esteem so that he feels good about himself. 

3. Showing love and care is all it takes to gain a child’s trust. Appreciate them on their achievements and recognise their effort no matter how small it is but make them set realistic goals.

4. Take an interest in their activities and interests.

5. Listen to your child. Parents often ignore their child’s feeling thinking he is too young. Well, just like yours his feelings deserve respect too.

6. Sometimes your child might not be comfortable talking to you, in that case, instead of forcing him to talk help your child find someone who he trusts and can talk to.

7.  Social media has been an integral part of everyone’s life even children are using it today. Be aware of your child’s media use, both the content and the amount of time spent and keep an eye on who is interacting with him in chatrooms and online games.

8. Be careful while discussing serious family issues such as finances, marital problems, or illness around your children. Children can worry about these things.

9. Talk about your feelings with your family and the child. Be his role model and let him see that it is okay to open up about your feelings. 

10. Teach your child how to relax in a stressful situation. This could include deep breathing or any other activity that he enjoys.

11. Help him out with possible solutions to handle a situation but let him do it on his own. Do not take over.

12. Appreciate his positive behaviour but criticise his negative behaviour too. Be clear of your expectations so that he can realise his mistakes.

Being a parent you are the first point of contact that your child has with the world. Having a warm and open relationship with your child solves half of the problem. Be aware of what is going on with your child not just at home but at school too. Help him build confidence to deal with problems and come out with solutions. Talking through things reduces the risk of developing any issues in the future too.

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Sources:

https://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/mental_health

https://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/childrens-mental-healthhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2755174/https://www.medicinenet.com/mental_illness_in_children/article.htm#is_it_possible_to_prevent_mental_illness_in_children

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/c/children-and-young-people

https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/deep-dives/mental-health/