Mental illness can feel like a difficult and heavy conversation to have with a child. However, it is important for children to have the vocabulary and comfort to discuss their own mental health if they experience challenges with it. At Highland Hospital Behavioral Health, in Charleston, West Virginia, we want to give parents the tools they need to teach their children about mental health.
Why You Should Discuss Mental Health With Children
There are a number of reasons why this is an important topic for children to understand:
- Many mental health disorders begin before the age of 18.
- The impact of isolation and distress related to mental illness can be even more difficult for children to manage than for adults.
- Families often miss the earliest signs of mental illness, so unless a child can express that something feels off, their treatment could be delayed.
- Faster access to treatment typically means faster and easier recovery.
- Having permission to talk about mental health removes the stigma and makes children feel safe asking questions and sharing information.
- Talking to children about mental health gives them insight into why people around them behave in a certain way, so that they do not automatically fear anyone they encounter with a mental health condition.
How to Explain Mental Illness to Little Kids
Mental health is a complex topic, but it can be explained in simple terms:
- There are different types of sicknesses. Some sicknesses make our bodies hurt. Others make our brains work differently. You aren’t a bad person if your brain or your body is sick.
- When a person’s brain is ill, they might have to take medicine to help their brain get better. Sometimes people just take medicine for a little while, but sometimes they have to take it for a much longer time.
- There are different doctors who help people with mental illness, and they also teach people how to take care of their brains, so that they feel better.
How to Explain Mental Illness to Older Children
As a young person gets older, they are able to understand more complex ideas. You can increase the information you share in a way that answers their questions about mental health. This might sound like:
- Depression is a sickness that makes people sad more often. It can also make them tired or cause them to believe that they are a bad person, when that is not true.
- Anxiety is when someone worries or is afraid more often than other people. Kids understand fear and worry. You can model grounding exercises and have them practice deep breathing with you.
- Bipolar disorder is when someone has really big emotions that make them very sad sometimes, and something really exciting and even careless. It can be really scary for people who have bipolar and they sometimes act differently, depending on how they are feeling.
Related Resources
There are several places you can look for tools to help children understand mental health:
- Your local library may have books for kids on mental health
- NAMI often provides in-person and online presentations for middle school and high school-aged students.
- Youth Mental Health First Aid is a training for adults to teach them how to support young people with mental health concerns.
When to Reach Out for Professional Support for Your Child
If your child is experiencing a mental health concern, you might notice the following:
Small Child
- Frequent tantrums
- More worry or fear than their peers
- Headaches or stomach aches with no clear medical cause
- Inability to sit still for the amount of time their peers can
- Trouble making friends
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- Poor grades in school
Older Child
- Less interested in things that used to make them happy
- Low energy level
- Isolating from friends and family
- Changes in sleep or eating
- Substance use
- Self-harm
- Dangerous behaviors
If you see these signs, it is a good idea to talk to your child’s school to gather information about how things are going there and make an appointment with their primary care doctor, who can rule out medical causes and make a referral to mental health providers.
At Highland Hospital Behavioral Health, we treat children and adolescents who are struggling with mental health disorders and support their families as they learn how to navigate the challenges alongside their child.
