For Parents/Guardians
Supporting Your Child’s Mental Health
Everyone in the Holt Public Schools community is dedicated to bettering the physical and mental well-being of our students. Now more than ever, teachers, parents, and guardians must work together to give our students the support they need. According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 children are living with a mental condition, and only 20% of these kids receive treatment from a specialized mental health care provider. Unfortunately, stigmas surrounding mental conditions and their treatment often prevent kids from reaching out when they’re struggling. It can be challenging to create an environment where kids feel comfortable opening up about their emotional state, so we have compiled a list of resources that will help you support your children when they’re going through a hard time.
More than anything, kids need to know that their parents will provide them with unconditional love and support through any hardship.
As parents, recognizing critical warning signs indicating that your child is struggling with mental health can be the first step in getting them the help they need. There are more detailed explanations of these signs included in the resources, but the following are a few behaviors to keep an eye on:
- Feeling very sad or withdrawn for more than two weeks
- Seriously trying to harm oneself or planning to do so
- Experiencing sudden overwhelming fear, racing heart, or fast breathing
- Desiring to hurt others or getting into repeated fights
- Expressing severe out-of-control behavior meant to hurt oneself or others
- Not eating, throwing up, or using laxatives to lose weight
- Experiencing intense worries or fears that affect daily activities
- Extreme difficulty concentrating or staying still
- Repeated use of drugs or alcohol
- Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
- Facing drastic changes in their behavior or personality
Adapted from MentalHealth.gov
