Peace of Mind: Marking Children's Mental Health Month

mental health awareness month
mental health awareness month

Mental health is important no matter how old you are or where you are in life and this is especially true for our younger generations, which is why we are shining a light on the topic for Children’s Mental Health Month. 

“Our children are the most important community asset that we have,” says Racine Collaborative for Children’s Mental Health manager Julie Hueller. “In order to assist our children to be the best version of themselves, the mental well-being of our children needs to be attended to by everyone that interacts with our children.”

This is not difficult for people to do. Simply having someone to talk to and listen to them is instrumental to a child’s development, especially when mental health begins to affect their day-to-day life. 

Signs your child is experience mental health concerns include: 

  • Changes in sleeping and eating patterns
  • Social isolation
  • Sad mood that is consistent and lasting over two weeks with no improvement
  • Irritability
  • Mood Swings
  • Anxiety
  • Talking negatively about themselves
  • Feelings of hopelessness

“As a parent when we start noticing these changes in our children, the first thing we should do is to bring them into the conversation to find out what is happening from their perspective,” says Hueller. “Over the last two years of our pandemic, we have certainly seen an increase in mental health symptoms in our children. Helping children identify how they are feeling and helping them cope with these feelings is a great first step.”

Not sure where to start? Check out this calendar for some conversation starters. RUSD also has many resources available to families, including several school-based mental health clinics. Additional mental health resources and tools in the links below. 

 

https://children.wi.gov/Pages/FeelingsThermometer.aspx

https://racine.wi.networkofcare.org/family/

Children's Mental Health Awareness Week Calendar