Before I get into the why mental health For children, parents and teachers need to be clear about what mental health is. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA defines child mental health such as reaching emotional and developmental milestones and learning healthy social skills and how to cope when there are problems. Although this is a widely accepted definition of health mental developmentthe Government of India also clarifies that, in addition to reaching milestones, mental health is not simply the absence of disease, but the general state of physical and social well-being. (Also read: This is how schools can contribute to the good mental health of children )
Most of the time, mental illness begins to show early symptoms between the ages of 15 and 17, but most people only seek care in adulthood. We can stop the progression of mental illness through early intervention if schools, teachers, and parents take an active role in mental health.
In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Meghna Yadav, a child psychologist and head of training at KLAY, shared insights on the importance of her son’s mental health when he regularly attends school.
The role of school and society
The school and the society that surrounds a child play a very important role in the development of holistic mental health of children. When a child leaves the protected environment of home, that is when she faces the real challenges of life. At this crossroads, it is important to have a balanced and healthy state of mind.
A child’s balanced emotional and mental state is considered significant when it comes to academic success. If a child can handle grades, participate in classroom discussions, and attend school regularly, parents and teachers can take these as good indicators of a child’s state of mind. On the other hand, if a child struggles, it’s hard to notice unless he gets into a serious situation.
Red flags to watch out for
In the first place, both parents and teachers must be attentive to manifestations such as attention deficit, cognitive disorders, lack of motivation and negative mood that the child presents in day-to-day activities. The most important role of a healthy state of mind is to enable the child to use her potential to the best of her ability. In the absence of a healthy state of mind, a child may not fulfill the potential he or she has been blessed with.
Mental health and basic human skills
Multiple studies indicate that a healthy state of mind not only results in academic growth but also fuels basic human skills such as leadership, social skills, and problem solving. A strong mental state allows the child to focus on tasks and supports the development of healthy social bonds. In the absence of this, children tend to exhibit behavior that is inappropriate and detrimental to the development of strong personality traits. This can be better understood with an example of hyperkinetic disorder, commonly known as HKD. It is one of the most common mental health problems, with a prevalence of 1-6% among children, especially in post-pandemic times.
Key symptoms include pronounced hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, and increased impulsivity. Children with HKD are easily distracted, jumping in class, yelling in the classroom, may focus their attention for only a short period of time, miss important information in class, interrupt classmates, drop class materials, or fall down. with their chairs. In such cases, children may not adhere to the expected structured behavior for several hours and eventually end up losing their self-confidence. Unfortunately, this is an irreparable loss and it could take years to rise above the challenge.
Nurture and intervene early
In short, if a child is blessed with a strong mental and emotional state, this must be nurtured by significant adults around them. But just in case, there is a faint sign of a child’s fragile state of mind, which cannot be neglected at all costs. Mental health problems in children, such as hyperkinetic disorder, depressive traits, and specific disorders of the development of school skills, such as disorders of reading, arithmetic, or spelling, impair the performance of children and adolescents and markedly increase the risk of school absenteeism and related problems. This cannot be taken lightly and, if approached early with a scientific mindset, rather than stigmatizing, can be removed from a child’s life.
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