Mental Health Concerns Among Children

May is a month of consciousness for mental health and in the middle of growing concerns regarding young mental health. A new survey examines what the children of America are concerned about. It is found that 86% of children of school age worry at least some time.

Survey Findings

The survey found that more than 1 out of 3 children aged 9 to 13 worry at least once a week. The most common concerns are about school (approximately 64%), friendships (41%) or family members (33%). Other frequent concerns include worries about their appearance (31%) or bullying (25%), and about 1 out of 5 worry about safety (22%) or violence in the world (19%).

“The frequency and the extent of worry is more important than the content of worry,” said Dr. Lawrence Moss. Have other recent data from the centers for disease control and prevention showed a decline in many aspects of the mental health of children – a trend that began before the Covid 19 pandemic, but worsened in the middle of these disorders.

Personal Stories

Children like Maeve Bradley, a 12-year-old who, like many children across the country, had to stay at home during the pandemic, are affected by these concerns. She took a break from team sports for a while and since her return to the classroom, she has said that her mind is full of worries. “We did a lot of things on our computer. And now it is like back with different types of tests and things,” said Maeve.

The survey showed that more than half of the children surveyed (53%) do not believe that adults understand their concerns – something that Maeve’s mother did not want to think of her daughter. “I just wanted to make sure she knew that she could come and talk, and no matter what happened, we would be there for her,” said Maura Bradley.

What Can Parents Do to Help

Some children can develop depression and psychological health problems that extend to adulthood. “75% of serious mental illnesses in the adult population started before the age of 14. So if we do not address this problem, we literally have the risk of losing an entire generation of Americans,” said Dr. Moss. Parents can help by simply asking children what they think.

Maeve, who feels better and is doing sports again, says she wanted to share her story so that others knew that they were not alone. “I know that some children really have problems, and I just want them to know that people do the same,” she said.