How to tell if your child is struggling with mental health

by Staff

Are you concerned that your child might be struggling with mental health problems but don’t know how to tell? Do you want to know how to decipher whether or not your child may be struggling with some kind of mental health problem?

Many people tend to glaze over mental health and mental health issues and often put it down to other most physical or visual problems. This should not be the case. Mental health concerns should be taken very seriously and looked into. This is especially true when it comes to children considering they may have a much harder time expressing what they are feeling. If your child is experiencing difficulties and you’re worried it’s not going to end well, take a look at the KIDTHINK questionnaire for mental health challenges. Additionally, here is some advice on how to tell if your child is struggling with mental health.

Mood Swings

Whether they are young children or children who are in their teens, when it comes to mental health and mental health struggles often younger people do not necessarily know how to put into words how they are feeling or don’t understand why they are feeling a certain way.

Children often display their struggle with mental health in many different physical or practical ways and these are the signs that you need to look out for in order to tell if your child is struggling. One of the first things that you can keep an eye out for is mood swings.

This is a very common symptom for younger children who are struggling with mental health and very often they will go from being completely happy and cheerful to being sad or even angry within an instant.

Anxiousness

The next sign that you should keep an eye out for if you are concerned about whether your child is struggling with their mental health is anxiousness or anxious behavior. In children, anxious behavior is defined by children clinging to family members, or not even being able to deal with or tolerate any kind of separation from them.

This anxiety can also present itself through intimidation of new people or even being scared to leave their homes. Anxiety is something that many people struggle with and often there are a lot of children who struggle with it too, but many parents pass it off as their children just being clingy because that is who they are.

Anxiousness can also be caused by a variety of different things especially online bullying or cyber-attacks. It is important to check up on your children’s online activity and make sure that everything is OK and that nothing could be harming them online

Insomnia

Moving on down our list, another way in which one can tell if their child is struggling with mental health problems is if they have difficulty when it comes to sleeping. Sleeping issues can present in a variety of different ways whether it is having trouble falling asleep, having trouble staying asleep, or just having a poor quality of sleep.

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep problems that children struggling with mental health problems seem to display. If you notice that your child is having trouble when it comes to their sleep it may be an indicator of mental health struggle.

Weight loss/gain

As a child fluctuation in weight gain and weight loss is something that is not commonly seen and typically children should only gain weight as they grow to their full height. With that said if you have noticed that your child’s weight is fluctuating, increasing excessively, or even decreasing then this may be cause for intervention.

This difference in weight gain or weight loss could mean that your child is struggling with mental health problems and that they need some help.

Changes in grades

Last but certainly not least if you notice a sudden change in your child’s grades at school this could be yet another indicator that they are struggling with their mental health. A change in grades does not only mean that your child could be seeing a decrease in their grades, but they also could be seeing a dramatic increase in their grades.

While that may be a terrific thing it could also mean that they are struggling with their mental health or that they are having problems when it comes to socializing or being around other people.

Excessive internet use

The internet has become a staple in many households across the globe. And while it offers a wealth of resources and opportunities, there are also risks associated with excessive internet use, especially for children. Studies have shown that too much time spent online can lead to health problems such as obesity, poor sleeping habits, and vision problems. Additionally, children who spend too much time on the internet are at increased risk of cyberbullying and being exposed to inappropriate content. Therefore, it’s important to protect your child’s data online and monitor their internet usage. You must, however, understand how to protect your data online in order to teach your children to do the same. You can do this by setting up parental controls on your child’s devices and ensuring they only access age-appropriate websites. By taking these steps, you can help keep your child healthy and safe online.

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The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.

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