Why is the Mental Health of Children Important? Proper mental health in students is crucial. Poor mental health can lead to developmental, psychological and mental disorders. To ascertain a child’s all round development to his/her full potential and to help them live a fulfilling life, it is important to pay attention to their mental status right from an early age.
There are certain factors like unconditional love, support, compassion, understanding, trust, a stable home environment, etc. that shape their mental health—both in a positive and negative manner. Hence educators and guardians need to be more attentive in these aspects. Knowing the factors that can cause mental health difficulties in students can help adults plan and support them to build the right skills while also encouraging resilience.
How Can You Identify the Stressors in a Child/Student?
In a report released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2013, over several million children in the 3-17 age group were suffering from mental disorders. Current lifestyle and the constant need to excel often lead to stressful experiences for students, and knowing how to identify these stressors can help parents, educators and kids to deal with them. Identifying these mental disturbances at early stages will also assist in resolving them more efficiently. Children
spiraling into mental disorders would most likely show these symptoms, keep an eye out for them:
• They avoid activities that they used to enjoy.
• They appear to be more irritated than usual and get upset over minor issues.
• A sudden drop in grades and performance at school.
• They appear sad and uninterested most of the time.
• Not standing up to bullies and lack of self-esteem.
• Constant worry or anxiety.
• Changes in eating habits.
• Difficulty in sleeping and frequent nightmares.
Stress can affect students at any age, even though the stressors may be different. If you notice one or more of the above symptoms or any other sudden change in your students, they may be in need of help. Here’s how you can help them cope with it:
• Listen: Usually, children try to tell you what’s wrong, albeit not directly. Pay attention and try to figure out what they are trying to say rather than jumping to conclusions. Lecturing, judging, or blaming them will discourage them from talking about their mental health and they will sink deeper into the illness.
• Build their self-esteem: If a child is struggling in a certain subject, getting them some one-on-one help with a tutor can be extremely helpful. Not only will their grades in that area improve, but they’ll also get a mental boost from setting and meeting the goals they made with their tutor.
• Provide emotional support: Teens and older students often go through turbulent times mentally and acknowledging their problems, and peer-related emotions will help build trust and find positive ways to deal with stress.
• Encourage resilience: Students need to understand that life will be full of challenges, so they need to overcome those—both self-imposed and external ones. Adults cannot solve every problem for them, so teach them to face adversity and deal with challenges the healthy way.
Schools, parents, and even the government need to work together to ensure the overall well-being of students of every age, as these youngsters are the future. After all, healthy young minds will go toward building a healthy world.
About Author: Larry Mager is passionate about the study of how to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. He believes in regular exercise of the brain as a means to do just that. Give yours a workout with some fun, brain-stimulating games at readybrain.net
