Why is it Important to Look After a Child’s Mental Health?

As humans advance with the emergence of new findings in mental healthcare, one thing remains startlingly clear: a child’s mental health often plays a decisive role in terms of how healthy they are as adults.

While sustained smooth sailing is not a part of life as we know it, it’s important that children have a life and future free of needless pain or worry. In order to do this, caregivers need to be vigilant and proactive about developing a healthy state of mind within their children or students.

For more reasons on why you need to be just as focused on your child’s mental health as you are about their nutrition and education, continue reading our post!

Formative experiences have a huge impact on how children turn out as adults

This statement sounds dramatic but it’s true. While it’s certainly not necessary to imagine a life of delinquency and crime (although this is a very real possibility), your child can end up severely anxious or depressed if their mental health needs are not met.

If your child has undergone a traumatic experience and is unwilling to talk or about it or has displayed noticeable signs of distress, get him or her professional help. If underlying emotions and issues are not dealt with in a healthy way, they can hinder their personal development and progress in other areas.

A child’s mental health affects almost every other aspect of their lives

Another reason why it’s so crucial to make sure that your child or student is in the best possible mental state is that poor mental health can affect every other area of life.

This is especially true for children, who have to grapple with seemingly all-consuming tasks like schoolwork, friends, chores and other activities that are major parts of everyday life. A troubled mind will have difficulty navigating these formative experiences successfully, leading to a host of other issues.

Performance at school, alone, has long-term consequences that play out over the rest of a child’s life. As such, addressing any mental health conditions as early as possible will be in the best interest of your child or student.

Children with troubled minds may be suicidal

Child suicide is a fact of life many of us struggle to comprehend. How could someone so young have the drive to kill themselves?

While data is hard to come by, certain sources report that many child suicides are reported as accidents, while numerous studies demonstrate that the number of children who die by suicide is far higher than official figures. In fact, according to the same source as above, suicide is the 4th leading cause of death for children between the ages of 10 and 14.

Because mental woes have a way of damaging the human spirit and driving a sense of hopelessness, certain children may be more vulnerable to thoughts of suicide. If you have your suspicions, it’s important that you find out more about signs of depression among children and teenagers and get the right help if you’re not sure what to do.

They may be more likely to be isolated and stigmatised

A child’s mental health determines exactly how he/she behaves at home, school, and in any other social setting. If something is amiss, your child or student may act strangely or seem totally withdrawn, causing other children to shun him/her.

Not only does this have the potential to further exacerbate existing symptoms but it can prevent those with mental health conditions from interacting meaningfully with children their age – behaviour, which may help alleviate distress and pain.

A child’s mental health needs to be a top priority for parents, teachers, and other caregivers

Mental health issues don’t have to define anyone’s life. Yet, if the proper care and support are not being given to those who are troubled, especially to children and teens, there is likely to be a long-lasting impact.

Provide your children or students with the right mental health support from the comfort of your home or classroom. At onPsych, our medical professionals are NDIS-registered and may even provide free service depending on where you live.