Usually when we think about the health of children we often only focus on the physical health but we rarely ever think what goes on inside their minds. We believe that since they’re children they have no worries or expectations, their only task in this moment of life is to be children. We tend to forget that besides being children they’re also human beings that feel, and have a way to process their thoughts and emotions. According to the CDC, being mentally healthy during childhood means reaching milestones and learning healthy social skills and how to cope with problems. The way they process these things can have a major impact along the years, and can shape them into who they will become.
The status of their mental health could also take a toll on their physical health as well. If a young boy is overweight and is constantly teased in school about it he might become depressed and have no social interactions with other kids.This could cause him not get the physical activity he needs on a regular basis to reduce the risk of any serious condition developing due to his weight. There are numerous ways to find out if a child is struggling. Since most of the time they don’t understand what’s going on through their mind, some of these signs are:
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Feeling sad, hopeless or irritable
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Feeling anxious or worried
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Is scared or fearful; has frequent nightmares
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Is excessively angry
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Avoids people
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Can’t concentrate, sit still or focus attention
Some of the most common diagnostics among children today are ADHD, anxiety, depression or behavior problems. Approximately 6.1 million kids between the ages of 2-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, 4.5 million kids with behavior problems, 4.4 kids with anxiety and 1.9 with depression. Sometimes some of these conditions occur together. Every 3 in 4 kids with depression also have anxiety and 1 in 2 have behavior problems. The numbers of children diagnosed with depression and anxiety have increased from 5.4% in 2003 to 8% in 2007 and so on and only 8 in 10 children seek treatment.
We’re currently living in difficult times, and it’s affected people from all ages even if there’s physical signs or not. Everywhere around the world people have spread the word of the importance of mental health and it’s our job to apply it to our daily life and how we can use this information to help others. Also, the children of today have more access to the internet than many of us had before meaning that they’re exposing themselves to things very early in their childhood. Children today spend more time on any type of social media instead of going out and riding bikes around the neighborhood as children did years ago where the numbers were much lower. It’s time we notice the importance of the situation and take action so that our future generation doesn’t look worse than the life we live today.
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