In 2025, May 4-10 is Children’s Mental Health Week, an annual observance intended to raise awareness and draw attention to the mental health needs of minors. It is a common misconception that mental illness is a “grown-up problem”. In reality, many mental health conditions begin in late childhood and early adolescence. At Palms Behavioral Health, in Harlingen, Texas, we treat children as young as 12 years of age for mental health disorders, and we think it’s important for adults to understand children’s mental health.
This year, the theme of Children’s Mental Health Week is “That’s a WRAP!” The focus of this year’s campaign is:
- Wellness – all of the various aspects of health impact one another, and it’s important for adults to teach children about taking care of themselves and model proper self-care.
- Resilience – the support we receive as children and adolescents can improve our ability to cope with adversity.
- Action – it’s time to make a plan for how you will look after your own mental health and the mental health of children in your care.
- Purpose – it is normal to want to contribute to the world in a meaningful way and feel valued. Adults can help young people in their lives find a sense of purpose.
Why You Should Talk to Children About Mental Health
Mental illness may feel like a difficult and heavy topic to discuss with children, but there are benefits to teaching children about mental health:
- Because mental health disorders often begin before a person reaches adulthood, giving a child the vocabulary and knowledge to understand mental illness will make it more likely that they will be able to identify mental health symptoms if they develop them and have the words to reach out for help, and also not fear a bad reaction from you if they do so.
- The COVID-19 pandemic increased the number of children and adolescents with mental health symptoms, so it is more likely now that kids will have a need for mental health interventions.
- There are genetic components to certain mental health disorders, so it could be helpful for young people to understand their family history if there is such a condition in the family tree.
- Even if your child never develops a mental health disorder, they will likely have a friend, classmate, or future co-worker who does. Your child will likely be a better ally to them if they have some understanding of mental health.
How to Discuss Mental Health With Kids
A child’s stage of development should be considered when you have conversations with them about mental health. You may also find it helpful to use tools like mental health coloring pages and worksheets with young children.
Preschoolers
At this age, stick to clear explanations of what children are observing around them. If they see someone around them who is yelling, crying, or doing something else unexpected, they may have questions. Provide simple, straightforward answers and let their questions guide you on what to discuss. For example, you can explain that there are different kinds of sicknesses. Some sicknesses make our bodies hurt. Some make our brains work differently than they should. People who have a mental illness aren’t bad or dangerous. Their brain might just make them feel sick sometimes.
When a person’s brain is making them sick, they might take medicine to help, just like your child takes medicine when they have a tummy ache or a cold. Instead of taking medicine for just a little while, though, they might take it for a very long time.
There are doctors who help people with mental illness. They might give them medicine or just be a good listener while the person talks about feeling sad, scared, or angry.
School-Aged Children
As your child gets older, they are likely to notice more of what is going on around them and to have more in-depth questions. They may want to know why someone in their life seems angry or sad often. They may observe that peers are showing signs of mental illness. Be as honest and open as possible. Your children might be ready at this age to understand the basics about specific mental health disorders, for example:
- Depression. People with this sickness usually feel sad more often than other people. It can also make them feel tired a lot or make them believe they are bad people when they are really not.
- Anxiety disorder. Kids know what it is like to be afraid and worried. You can help them understand that anxiety disorder means feeling that way a lot of the time, so much that it can make it hard for them to do other stuff. You can model simple grounding exercises for your child and talk about how taking a break sometimes helps people manage anxiety.
- Bipolar disorder. Your child knows about excitement and happiness, and also unpleasant feelings. You can help them use this knowledge to understand the ups and downs of bipolar disorder, and if they know someone with this condition, you can help them understand why this person might act differently sometimes.
Teenagers
Your teenager likely already knows one or more people with a mental health diagnosis. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions often begin before high school. By talking to children when they are younger, you are teaching your high schooler that you are open to discussing mental health with them. You can help them locate credible sources of information about mental health and point them to resources they and their peers can utilize to get support, such as the 988 Lifeline.
We Can Help
At Palms Behavioral Health, we don’t just treat patients. We also work with families to help them learn how to best support their loved one who is dealing with mental illness. We know how important it is for a person with a mental health disorder to know that they have people in their corner.
