National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day illuminates the nation on the importance of looking after the mental health of every child and reinforces that positive mental health is essential for the healthy development of children.

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, celebrated on May 7th, raises awareness about the importance of mental health for children and young adults. The obvious truth is that for our citizens, communities and states to prosper, we must have healthy brains; and, the process of ensuring brain health begins early in life, when our brains are developing.

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day’s history

Mental and emotional health is important because it is an important part of life and affects thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. Healthy emotions can promote productivity and efficiency in activities like work, school, or caregiving. The time of an infant or child's life will bring a lot of affects in their mental and physical health. Their brains begin to develop and learn to act, behave, think and feel. This childhood can be the beginning of good mental health and happiness for the rest of their lives.

Carrie Slatton-Hodges, the commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse informed that half of life-long mental illnesses begin at age 14. If we realize and treat soon, we can lessen the potential negative effects in our life.

We don't let other diseases in young people progress and get worse. Mental health issues must be considered just as important as physical health problems.” Teens with mental health disorders are more likely to be unhappy at school, be absent, or be suspended or expelled. Their learning is negatively affected because of poor concentration, distraction, inability to retain information, poor peer relationships, and aggressive behavior. How can we expect a child to grow, learn and mature into a healthy adult, if we do not ensure their mental health?

In the US, 7.1% of children aged 3-17 have anxiety and 3.2% have depression. These are numbers that have steadily increased over the past two decades. The National Institute of Mental Health notes that at least half of all mental illnesses begin at age 14 and 75% by age 24. The median age of onset of anxiety and/or impulse control disorders was 11 years.

Slatton-Hodges said that we had to do anything about it, and all of us also take responsibility. Addressing the demands in mental health for children is the responsibility of all members in the community. Children and young people will learn and imitate from their parents, caregivers, family members, teachers, and doctors. It is said that the adults will teach them a lot to respect and rely on. With these roles, we influence how children and young people think about and care for their own mental health and how they treat people experiencing mental health difficulties.

Mission: Promote healthy communities and provide the highest quality care to advance the health of Oklahomans. National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day is the time for a brighter, healthier future for the next generation. Early diagnosis combine with appropriate services for children and their families can create a difference to access for providers who can supply services including screening, referrals and treatment, which all parents and caregivers should know how to approach.

Interventions for Mental Health Professionals

Many parents are finding that services that were once provided in school and daycare facilities are no longer available due to COVID-19 isolation restrictions. One way that mental health professionals can help make up for this loss in services is to provide parents with information about behavioral or environmental modifications they can make at home to support the needs of their children. One such example is our parent training program on Applied Behavior Analysis for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Text, Talk, Action was created under SAMHSA as an interactive, mobile way to encourage youth discussion about mental health and stay connected to relevant resources and local services. The American Psychological Association joined this initiative starting May 7 and continuing throughout May. Teens can text APA to 89800 to participate in a mental health related activity.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has supplied some helpful resources to help parents about the mental health related to COVID. In addition, Child Mind Institute has help from experts navigating a multitude of topics, from distance learning to test time concerns during quarantine.

Professionals can also advocate for their clients to access services, provide resources for their communities, and stay connected with local service providers in their state. The National Family Federation has a variety of interesting opportunities for parents and professionals as well as about the local branches in all 50 states.

As we continue to assess the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of children and families in the future.  It has never been more important for mental health professionals to take care more for the health of their clients. By continually seeking resources and support for children and families, we can begin to “turn the tide” in mental health care.

Celebrating National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

One in four or five young adults in the general population meet the criteria for a lifetime mental disorder, 1, and the risk of mental illness is increased for young people from low-income families. low2 and those already involved in the juvenile justice or child welfare system.4 Discrimination related to mental illness poses a major barrier to recovery and is a major reason why people do not seek help and treatment.5 However, as President Obama stated in his Presidential Proclamation officially naming May 2013 as National Mental Health Awareness Month, it is our Work as a country to help eliminate attitudes and discrimination related to receiving mental health services and to spread the word that seeking help is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.

Belong to National Mental Health Awareness Month, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is sponsoring National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day on May 9th, 2013. Communities across the country will host local Awareness Day events to raise awareness of children's mental health. See this list of highlighted events to find Awareness Day activities in your state. SAMHSA will be celebrating National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day with a virtual event on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. ETD. This virtual event will feature young people sharing their stories and discussing how their relationships have helped them develop resilience and overcome challenges to stay in school, find employment and become successfully independent as they transition into adulthood. The virtual event will feature Washington, DC, local news host Leon Harris as director, and a recorded message from Awareness Day Emeritus Chair Demi Lovato.