Mental Health and Children

As mental health becomes more openly talked about we can start seeing that there are signs and symptoms of mental health issues in children. We are beginning to see these issues much earlier with more attention being brought to the subject. This however doesn't mean that these children are getting the help that they need any quicker if ever at all.

Any parent that pays attention to their child can begin to see the signs of deteriorating mental health early on. However, insurance and other factors have made it difficult for these children to get the help that they need. Don't be afraid to fight the good fight for your child, just know that it may be a difficult and tiring battle.

A Parent's View

As the parent of a child with mental issues and on the border of a mental health crisis, I am sitting here truly lost for words. I struggle each day to help my child be his best self. I watch him struggle to be his best self, I am often times heartbroken to the point, I cry in the bathroom alone so he doesn't see it.

My child often times feels horrible about himself to the point that he asks me why I don't love him or like him. I watch him cry because he made a mistake and now feels stupid or dumb. I have watched this child who wants nothing more than to feel loved and accepted by everyone become a recluse and hide in his bedroom because he feels that no one will be bothered by him.

I have watched my child hit himself, and bang his head on the wall while repeatedly saying he is stupid. I have spent hours upon hours sitting with my child, crying with my child and talking with my child to try and help him feel better about himself. Now I know what you are all thinking and probably saying to yourselves right now, I will soon address all of that.

The Steps I Have Taken

I have spent countless hours on the phone with mental health centers trying to get him an appointment. I have gone to his peditrician and begged for help for him. I have tried to help him work through these emotions and understand that he is loved and wanted. As I said before, I have cried with him and held him while he cried. But all of this is breaking me too.

What more can I possibly do for him? I have even reached out to the counselors at his school to get him help. My heart breaks every day for this child and there is no end in sight.

The Problem

There is more than just one problem with this whole situation. One of the biggest problems is that just to get my child help I have to get a referral for his insurance to cover it. Then when I approach the pediatrician I am often asked if I have tried parenting classes or asked if it is that severe why I haven't I had him baker acted. I don't need parenting classes, I am not the reason that my child feels this way, he doesn't need to be baker acted and held for pysch evaluation for 72 hours.

Another problem with this is the extremely long wait periods for appointments. In some cases you are talking a year or better that they places are booked out for appointments. Referral or no referral they don't have enough staff or appointments to treat the demand. This has become a crisis in this country and who knows when or if it will ever end.

A third problem that arises, is when the pediatrician will do some type of evaluation you have to get teachers and families on board to fill out questionaires. The problem here lies in the fact that not all teachers will answer these questions honestly. Some teachers will behaviors as simple childhood behaviors that they will grow out of. They have this outlook from fear of a child being put on medication. What they don't seem to realize is that their "opinion" is not always in the best interest of the child.

Please America

To the people of America, please stop harming these children by blocking their ability to get mental health help. You are only damaging these children further and setting them up for failure. Families can only help so much. Our children have the right to medical care whether it is physical or pyschological and when you stand in their way for whatever reason you are creating stressful and traumatic situations that are unecessary.

Please America put an end to this crisis before it is too late for some of these children. I don't want to bury my pre-teen son because he can't help himself in the negative feelings. I want to get him help, I am lucky enough to work in the medical and be awarded the time to make the calls to get him help. Parents please remember that your child can't help the way he / she feels and really has no controll over it, don't punish them. Thank you to all the parent's, pediatricians and educational support staff that try to help these children think and feel better.