Pre-Teen’s Mental Health
One of the alarming signs to come out of data that is being collected is the rising mental health concerns for children. Just one article I read recently was that emergency rooms have seen a 24 percent increase in mental health-related visits from children ages 5 to 11 compared to last year. The increase amongst older kids is even higher — 31 percent.
Depression – Anxiety – Trauma – All are now a reality and a real concern for parents. Let’s look just briefly at the change in structure to daily activity for children during the past year of two.
A nationwide study by the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and physical activity in Canada showed that children were less active, more sedentary, played outside less, had more recreational screen time and slept more.
Let’s also consider the obvious,
- Non continuity of learning, stress generated about future exams or marks.
- Loss of security or safety net amongst peers.
- Loss of freedoms – social isolation – limited online interaction with friends.
- Access to mis-information, fearful media and news channels.
- Limited coping strategies for future generating parents stress fear and anxiety levels.
- No consistency about the future with routine changes uncertain but inevitable.
At “Creating Functional Families, we are working consistently with parents, whose children are stressed, lonely and uncertain, showing problematic behaviors such as irritability, aggression, and social withdrawal. We don’t want to alarm you but parents need to step up …..
During this current climate, we know it’s only going to get worse for other families out there. There is no doubt young children and pre-teens are vulnerable, so parents need to be very mindful of irritability, aggression, stress, depression even evidence of social withdrawal, should be red flags to parents, carers, and educators.
We cannot think of a better reason or time for parents to consciously look for ways to improve their own skill sets and solutions to reinforce and build better relationships with their children.
With the alienation of social connections for children, parents as busy as you are, you need to look towards spending more quality time and establishing stronger communication and bonds with your children. Reassuring and empowering your children with resilient and capable coping mechanisms and abilities, i.e. Improved and open dialogue, rapport building, empathy, emotional intelligence, quality time, connection, empathy, and the list goes on.
I have been referring to our “lockdowns”, here in Australia, as “Parental Bonding Opportunities” and although we understand, parents have their own unique challenges to deal with, in these turbulent times, your children need you, to give this top priority. For more information on how creating functional families can help with programs, services and solutions, click on this link today. https://creatingfunctionalfamilies.com/the-first-steps