RCH National Health Poll: What Parents Need to Know About Childhood Mental Health

The Royal Children’s Hospital national health poll findings have just been released.

They shed a lot of light on how families with young children understand and deal with mental health issues…

And emphasise the importance of identifying the warning signs…

Of understanding the issues…

And of seeking out early intervention. 

Of the 2000 parents surveyed in the poll…

A third believed that mental health problems in kids will ‘work themselves out’ over time. 

About a quarter did not know that physical symptoms can be signs of mental health problems. 

And fewer than half felt confident about where they could get professional help. 

These numbers may seem surprising, as the proportion of children exhibiting mental health challenges is at an all-time high.

But the warning signs and symptoms of mental illness or emotional problems can be hard to identify.

Read more…

5 Ways Anxiety Harms Learning and 8 Things Parents Can Do to Help

There is an ‘epidemic of anxiety’ among Australian children.

And many experts are attributing this to increasing pressure at school.

But when it comes to school and anxiety – it can be a case of:

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

How and why childhood anxiety develops is not the most important issue at hand, though.

What’s important is that it’s identified and addressed as soon as possible.

Read more…

‘Happiness Lessons’ to be Introduced into UK Schools

In great news for British students and their families, the UK Department of Education will be investing over 2 million dollars in mental health support over the next few years.

This comes as a response to what has been called a ‘youth mental health epidemic’…

With around 10 per cent of UK students suffering from a diagnosable mental health condition.

Many students suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression directly as a result of the extreme academic pressures they face in schooling.

So it’s a proactive and thoroughly appropriate response to tackle these issues within the school framework.

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Mindfulness for Kids — at Home and at School

There is no denying — or avoiding — the fact that children, and even very young children, are suffering from more anxiety than any generation before them.

This increase has been heavily documented in university research papers, psychology studies, and even noted by education professionals…

Up to 55 per cent of teachers in the UK have reported a dramatic rise in anxiety levels in their students in the last few years, and in Australia, the figures are similar. 

Read more…

Distinguishing Behaviours — The Difference Between Shyness, Introversion and Social Anxiety

During the formative years of childhood and adolescence, it can be difficult for a parent to understand what their child is going through.

Particularly when it comes to mental and emotional challenges, the lines between what’s normal and what might need to be addressed can be very blurry.

Depression versus sadness; anxiety versus stresslearning difficulties versus disengagement…

They can all present overlapping signs and symptoms.

That’s why psychologists are constantly researching and analysing these conditions, so that they can be addressed and rectified as early as possible.

Social anxiety, shyness and introversion are three concepts which can be confused for this exact reason — they all lie on the same spectrum.

But while the latter two can be harmless and even positive personality traits, social anxiety can interrupt a sufferer’s ability to function on a day to day basis.

So what’s the difference?

Read more…

The Role of Diet in Memory and Mental Health

We all know the effects that a poor diet can have on our physical health.

In the long term, a diet high in fat and sugar can lead to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and a huge range of other physical ailments.

And in the short term, a poor diet lacking in nutrients can make us fatigued, lethargic and interrupt our ability to concentrate.

But doctors and neuropsychologists are increasingly discovering the impact that our diet has on our mental health, as well as our physical health.

And this impact has a significant affect on children and how they perform at school.

Read more…

The Simple Reason that Meditation Works

You’ve likely noticed that there is something of a ‘meditation’ trend happening.

Prominent figures such as Oprah have even jumped on the bandwagon, having launched a meditation app collboratively with Deepak Chopra.

But this is one ‘fad’ that we can definitely get behind, and one that shouldn’t be going away any time soon.

Why?

Read more…

A New Way to Look at Anxiety

We all experience ‘anxiety’ in some form throughout our lives.

We can describe this anxiety as a feeling of worry or nervousness about something.

And for many people, these uncomfortable feelings are both fleeting and surmountable.

In many situations, it may even be more appropriate to ascribe these feelings to ‘stress’, rather than anxiety.

But for those who suffer more seriously or frequently from anxiety, or even from generalised anxiety disorder, it can be hard for those who don’t to relate.

Read more…

Helping Childhood Anxiety with a ‘Worry Box’

The prevalence of childhood anxiety has more than doubled in the last twenty years.

And while we all experience anxious feelings at times, certain children will suffer more greatly, with their anxieties interrupting the functioning of their daily lives.

This could mean that it affects their sleeping, their socialising, or their ability to concentrate at school.

We’ve discussed a number of techniques for dealing with childhood anxiety on the blog…

But a useful tool for very young kids dealing with anxiety can be introducing a ‘worry box’ into their daily routine.

Read more…

Is Your Child Suffering, or are You?

An interesting article in The Age recently brought up concerns regarding parents who may be unnecessarily anxious about their children’s health.

The article cited a recent survey that showed that 75 per cent of pediatric specialists said many of their referrals could have been handled exclusively by the referring GP.

The relevant issue at hand here is that parents are increasingly seeking out specialist support for normal issues in childhood development…

Common issues such as bed-wetting, constipation, and even concerns about their children’s height.

This speaks to an increasing anxiety among parents, and their quest to ensure their child is developing ‘normally’.

Understandably, this kind of pattern of anxious parenting comes up not only in the physical development of the child, but also their emotional and psychological development.

So how can we know when we’re self- or over-diagnosing our children?

Read more…

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