Children's Mental Health

Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. Mental health is a basic human right.

World Health Organisation

As with all situations, there are certain factors that may increase the risks of poor mental health:

• parental issues (e.g., substance or alcohol misuse, mental health issues, family members in prison)
• loss within the family (e.g., parents who separate or divorce, bereavement)
• experience of abuse (physical, sexual or emotional) or neglect
• experience of being bullied
• living in poverty or experiencing homelessness
• being a young carer
• experiencing significant issues at school, such as exam stress.

Children and young people can show signs of poor mental health in emotional, behavioural and physical ways.

Emotional signs include:

• crying more than usual
• prolonged sadness
• irritability and aggression – particularly if this manifests in regular, unprompted outbursts
• appearing bored more often than normal
• talking about topics such as death or suicide.

Behavioural signs include:

• young children may become clingier, while older children may be more withdrawn
• losing interest in friends and hobbies
• being reluctant to talk 
• difficulty concentrating. 

Physical signs:

• changes in appetite
• insomnia or disrupted sleep patterns
• increased incidences of bed wetting for younger children
• frequent headaches or stomach aches
• rapid loss of weight
• teeth grinding
• loss of hair
• self-harm. 

• Create a whole-setting culture where children and young people feel confident to talk openly about their mental health.
• Talk with the child or young person – talking is often key. It may be that the initial conversation has nothing to do with their mental health and instead is more general, but this will build trust and understanding.
• Stay informed about where a child or young person can find appropriate support material to go over in their own time at their own pace.
• Encourage a healthy lifestyle (e.g., good nutrition and taking exercise).
• Help the child or young person understand what they are feeling – for example everyone has fears and worries about things and part of growing up is learning how to deal with these.
• Follow your safeguarding procedures and share your concerns with the appropriate member of your safeguarding team.
• Get support for yourself – you don’t need to know all the answers, however, you do need to be sure that there is nothing further that can be done.

Most children and young people do not get to a point where they are self-harming or considering taking their own life. For those that do, it's important that this is recognised, and appropriate support is put in place. 

Contrary to some belief, self-harm is not attention seeking. Often, it is a coping mechanism to stop the child/young person feeling that things are getting out of control – the Samaritans have a handout looking at common myths around self-harm. If a child or young person is expressing suicidal ideation, it’s important that you get help and support immediately.

Starting conversations about suicide can be daunting for everyone. Papyrus (a charity working to help prevent young suicide) emphasises the importance of empowering others to reach out for support if they are experiencing thoughts of suicide and helping them find suitable services or support them.