Parent Portal: Mental Wellness Among Children

BY Lacey Leonardi CNY

PUBLISHED 8:12 PM ET Mar. 04, 2020 PUBLISHED March 4, 2020 @8:12 PM

The C-NS school district is holding a forum to get information and resources to parents about mental wellness, and we wanted to share some of that information with our viewers.

The first question is, how can you tell if your child is dealing with emotional trauma? Experts say parents should look for changes in the child's behavior, sleep patterns, and eating habits.

Spectrum News spoke with Beth Robbins, the social worker at Roxboro Middle School about what that looks like in a child, because it's different from adults.

"We often think of something really severe being trauma for children,” said Robbins. “For little children trauma is something that impacts what their typical daily function is. So if you see your child who is usually an easy going kid and you're starting to see highs & lows, those are things to watch for. [That] does not mean that there is something wrong with your child, it's something to watch for."

There can be different factors that play into changes in behavior. A trauma to youth could be a divorce, death, parent's job changes, a new sibling, a change in their daily routine, or a sibling goes to college.

For parents, prevention starts with a conversation. Social workers say you can improve emotional wellness at an early age just by talking with your kids about their feelings.

"It's to have that open communication with your child, so talking with your children about their feelings,” said Robbins. “How their feeling is one of the things I work with students on is its okay to feel your feels. It's not always okay to act them out."

At home parents can use books to help feelings openly. Books like Howard B. Wigglebottoms or books by author Julia Cook might help get a conversation started.

If you need more help, professionals have these suggestions for support: