The importance of mental health in early childhood

When considering mental health, the scenarios that often come to mind include an adult overwhelmed by the pressures of work, relationships, financial difficulties, parenting or other life pressures. Kids’ mental health is discussed less than adults’, but it should not be seen as less important.

What is children’s mental health?

Mental health describes a person’s emotional, psychological and social well-being. It influences an individual’s perception of their life and the world around them as well as their ability to interact with those in their lives.

Advocates stress the importance of mental health in early childhood because it can affect a child’s behavior, ability to learn, emotional intelligence, social skills and more. Early childhood mental health — similar to any experience or skills kids learn in their developmental years — sets them up for adolescence and adulthood. So why is children’s mental health important? A strong foundation allows children to become happy, healthy and highly functioning adults.

Why are early experiences important in childhood for mental health?

Adverse childhood events, or ACEs, are traumatic events or experiences that happen in childhood. They can include abuse, neglect, violence to themselves directly or witnessing violence, the death of a loved one, and more. Simply put, ACEs can make kids feel unsafe and unable to bond with others. When a child feels unsafe and stuck in survival mode, they can’t focus on achieving other developmental milestones, which can stunt emotional, social and cognitive learning.

Research shows that ACEs have a direct impact on kids’ mental health and their mental well-being as an adult. In fact, some experts estimate that up to 21 million depression cases and nearly 2 million heart disease cases in American adults could have been prevented if they did not experience an ACE as a child.

ACEs and negative mental health conditions can have significant, unfortunate effects even before adulthood. The impact of mental health issues on academic achievement in high school students is clear: Behavioral and mental health struggles in 3-year-olds were associated with low performance at age 12. Furthermore, mental health difficulties at 12 were associated with teenagers not completing grades in high school or becoming ineligible for higher education opportunities due to poor academic performance. 

While future academic achievement is one reason to take kids’ mental health seriously, their overall well-being as teens and adults can also be positively or negatively influenced by mental health.

How to raise a mentally healthy child?

Raising a mentally healthy child can help set them up for success as an adolescent and adult, though it can’t guarantee individuals won’t experience short- or long-term mental health struggles or illness later in life.

Understanding the importance of kids’ mental health to their overall well-being is a great place to start. Here are some steps to consider.

• Acknowledge and OK their feelings. Kids are learning the world around them at the same time they’re learning about themselves. It’s normal and expected for them to have big feelings and messy ways of expressing them until they learn other ways to cope. It’s important to name their feelings — good or bad — so kids know how to express themselves better as they understand the emotion they’re experiencing. For example, if a child is angry, you can say, “You seem angry about sharing a toy. It’s OK to be angry, but you cannot hit. You can talk about that anger.” The next time the child is angry, they may be able to voice that feeling rather than act on it.
  
  Read more about how to acknowledge young children’s feelings while upholding a boundary. Consistency is key when teaching children their emotions and maintaining boundaries.

• Teach them to recognize mental health symptoms. It’s possible for toddlers and young children to be diagnosed with common mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety. Therefore, it’s important to understand the typical warning signs for mental health struggles and talk to kids about how to recognize their own symptoms. This can be as simple as teaching them to understand when they are feeling overwhelmed or notice significant changes in their mood, activity levels or interests. It's also critical for kids and teens to recognize and speak up when they have thoughts of harming themselves or others.

• Understand advocacy. If children or adolescents recognize that they have mental health symptoms, they will still need to learn how to express their concerns. Talk to children about some phrases they can use with trusted adults if they’re experiencing mental health struggles. And in case the trusted adult a child or adolescent confides their struggles to doesn’t take their concerns to heart, they should know they have your full support to keep bringing up their concerns and advocating for themselves until they feel validated.

• Don’t take away challenges; teach them how to work through them. Parents, guardians and mentors likely have the best intentions when they attempt to cushion kids from the hardships of life. However, it’s important to remember that without practice and good role models, kids and teens won’t know how to react to negative situations and could respond in unhealthy ways. They need to know they can handle difficult situations and that they’ll have your support and guidance while they do it.
• Model mentally healthy habits. While proactive conversations can work wonders, allowing kids and teens to learn by watching you can be just as powerful and send subconscious messages that mental health matters. Adults should talk about their good and bad mental health symptoms, within reason, and model healthy habits, like seeking help or taking a break.

What are some actions to avoid in order to raise mentally healthy kids?

• Neglect or dismiss their symptoms. If kids don’t get quality time with undivided attention from the adults in their lives, they’ll learn their needs aren’t important and will likely act in negative ways to get the attention they seek. If adults neglect to acknowledge them and their emotional, social and physical needs, their mental health will suffer in the short and long term. Research shows that children who experience abuse or neglect have an increased risk for mental health issues, learning problems, difficulties relating to their peers, low self-esteem and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Violence toward or in proximity to a child. Witnessing or being the victim of any violence, even things like hitting or a lot of shouting, can create what is known as toxic stress in children. Not only will they think violence is normal, but these experiences can also create negative mental health conditions, such as PTSD, aggression, anxiety and more.

How to explain mental health to a child?

Just as it’s important to talk to children about emotion, it’s also critical to educate them on mental health. Toddlers and young kids may already understand the importance of taking care of their physical body so they don’t get sick or injured. You can talk to them about the importance of taking care of their brain, too. Older kids and teens can begin to understand mental health and how it is just as significant to their overall well-being as physical health.

While reoccurring conversations about mental health are crucial to helping kids and teens understand and recognize mental health symptoms, adults can supplement those teachings with books, explanatory videos from a trusted source, podcasts and other education tools.

Role-playing is another teaching mechanism. Adults can talk about how they may recognize their own mental health symptoms and how they ask for help. Then, kids can practice by doing the same. This will equip kids with some phrases to explain their mental health conditions to adults if they need to ask for help.

How to improve child mental health?

If you’re wondering how to improve child mental health, know that early intervention is the most helpful action parents and families can take. If you notice negative mental health symptoms, don’t write off warning signs as simply a phase. It’s always a good idea to ask your child’s or teen’s pediatrician for advice. Other resources include school counselors and mental health service providers, such as Heart of Iowa Community Services for kids’ and teens’ mental health supports close to home.

Since the impact of mental health on child development is so significant, early intervention and early access to care are the best ways to prevent issues from worsening and affecting other facets of a youth’s overall well-being.

What are the five most common mental disorders in children?

The common child mental disorders list includes the following.

1. Mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder.
2. Anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, PTSD and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
3. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
4. Behavioral disorders, such as oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder.
5. Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.

What are five ways to improve mental health?

1. Start with early intervention: As discussed previously, early intervention is the best way to prevent symptoms from going unchecked and worsening.
2. Have clear, open communication: It’s important for kids and teens to know they can confide in you and will not be met with an overreaction or judgment. Plainly talk with your children about what mental health is, how they can recognize symptoms and how they can talk about them.
3. Consider the environment: Kids are very susceptible to changes in their world, and they may lack the ability to understand and voice how they are affected. Their behavior often communicates the shift. Big life changes, such as adding a new sibling, moving homes, starting school or a divorce in the family, can impact mental health. Other environmental factors can be more subtle: Perhaps technology overload is causing a child with ADHD to feel overstimulated, or a lack of fresh air, healthy diet and exercise may contribute to depression.
4. Create a flexible treatment plan: Mental health professionals and other health experts, like a family doctor or pediatrician, can help you create a multifaceted treatment plan that allows for changes, if necessary, as kids may improve or regress.
5. Focus on consistency: Carry out the treatment plan and offer supports as consistently as possible so that the efforts have time to make a positive impact. This also helps kids know what to expect, allowing them to feel secure and stable.

How to support a child with mental health issues?

The best way to change the stigma against talking about and seeking help for mental health issues is to foster the next generation of mental health advocates. That means we must start by showing them how important we consider mental health — and their own mental health — needs to be.

Evidence suggests that about half of mental health disorders begin by the age of 14. While symptoms may be subtle at first, they can evolve into a more serious disorder. If a child or teen is exhibiting mental health struggles, we know early intervention in childhood or adolescence is the best way to keep symptoms from worsening. But just as we say it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a group to support a child living with a mental health condition.

• Health professionals: Early intervention and a full treatment plan can help families and educators know the steps they can take to support a kid’s mental health. Mental health professionals, pediatricians and other health professionals can determine if behavioral and emotional therapy — potentially in combination with medication — can improve mental health symptoms. Pediatricians can help connect families to appropriate mental health supports, like HICS.

• Family: Family members, from parents and siblings to extended family, can be great advocates for a kid’s mental health. The family unit helps children create the core of their identity. Knowing that family not only understands and believes their mental health struggles but also champions their wellness is vital to a kid’s development. Not only can they help monitor a child’s symptoms, but family can also support the tactics that will help children improve. For instance, if a child has anxiety, family members can OK their feelings and talk about recommended coping mechanisms so symptoms don’t worsen.

• Educators: After family, educators and school counselors are the most likely group to make a difference in a kid’s mental health because they also spend time with the child. Additionally, educators are often trained to observe warning signs and can recommend next steps for families to take if there is a mental health issue. Mental health in early childhood education is so significant to a kid’s present and future academic and social performance that it’s critical for families to have an advocate team in this category.

If a child in your life is struggling with mental health, don’t wait to reach out to HICS at HICSIowa.org. Learn more about HICS’s children’s services here.