Kids in Crisis: Signs your child is struggling
Is your child OK?
It’s a question parents, guardians and loved ones who care for their kids ask themselves every day. But sometimes it’s hard to tell when children are in emotional distress.
COVID-19 has taken a traumatic toll on the world, and life during the pandemic has been complicated, stressful and full of complications during the the past year and a half.
Throughout the pandemic, more young people have reported being anxious, depressed and lonely, but one small COVID-19 silver lining is the added emphasis and attention toward proactively treating mental health issues.
Signs to watch for in kids
How do you know when a child is struggling emotionally to the point that professional help is needed?
Mental health experts encourage everyone to be mindful if a child starts showing any of these warning signs:
h Sleep: Sleeping a lot more or less than usual. Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
h Eating/weight: Eating substantially more or less than usual. Significant weight loss or gain in a short period of time.
h Concentration: A change in ability to focus on a task or complete a task.
h Moodiness: Not just having a bad day or few days. A week or more of persistent low mood, sadness, anxiety, or irritability.
h Cleanliness: A noticeable difference in personal hygiene.
h Fashion: Atypical clothing for the season. For example, always wearing long-sleeve clothes even during hot weather days (outside of medical conditions or religious/spiritual reasons). This may signal concerns for self-harming behaviors such as cutting.
h Socializing: Less interest in spending time with friends or socializing. Withdrawing from social events and family more than usual.
h Interests: Not wanting to participate in activities that usually bring joy.
Not wanting to play sports, do art projects or other favorite activities.
h Academic: Sudden decline in academic performance with no known reason.
h Social media: Talk of hopelessness, death, or self-harm and/or sharing many negative/hopeless posts on social media. These should be discussed in more detail and mentioned to parents, school staff members, or a pediatrician right away.
Links to local resources
Here’s a list of resources to learn more about the different types of mental health crises young people experience and how to get help.
h On Our Sleeves: The Movement for Children’s Mental Health: www.onoursleeves.org/mental-healthresources/national-state-resources/ ohio.
h Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services: mha.ohio.gov/health-professionals/ About-mental-health-and-addictiontreatment/emergency-preparedness/
Coronavirus/ohio-careline.
h Crisis Text Line: In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor: www.crisistextline.org/.
h Children’s Defense Fund: Useful Resources for Children and Families During the COVID-19 Crisis: childrensdefense.org/useful-resourcecovid-19/.
h CAP4KIDS: The Children’s Advocacy Project of Columbus, Ohio, which can help you find many community agencies that aim to improve the lives of children and families: cap4kids.org/ columbus/.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a behavioral health crisis, you can reach Ohio’s 24/7 Crisis Text Line by texting 4HOPE to 741741, or call the Franklin County Suicide Prevention Hotline at 614-221-5445; the Teen Suicide Prevention Hotline at 614-2943300; or the national Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255/TALK (1888-628-9454 for Spanish speakers). kgordon@dispatch.com @kgdispatch cdoyle@dispatch.com @cadoyle_18