To build better mental health, kids need to start at an early age, experts say

In recent years, a significant number of Wisconsin teens have reported struggling with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

Experts say promoting positive mental health in infants and young children can help children feel more connected in the future.

Approximately 80 percent of brain development occurs during the first three years of life, when infants and young children form new brain connections through experience and interaction with adults.

“When we think about infant mental health, we think about the child’s ability to form relationships, experience a range of emotions, and learn,” said Lana Schukyler Nenide, executive director of the Wisconsin Infant Mental Health Alliance. Stated.

Schukyler-Nenide said this development occurs through children’s relationships with their parents and other adults, laying the foundation for social skills and emotional competencies as they grow older.

Linda Hall, director of the Wisconsin Department of Children’s Mental Health, said the foundation becomes even more important when she sees the number of high school students who struggle to make these connections.

According to this year’s report from the Children’s Mental Health Administration, 61% of students said they felt connected at school, and 67% said they had an adult at school they trusted.

“Kids need to learn about trusting relationships before they start school, so they can be open to learning,” Hall says. “That gives them a little bit more of a foundation, and they get excited about learning and feel like they have a place at home and at school.”

Building good mental health starts at home

Hall said many parents and adults who work with children need a deeper understanding of what mental health looks like in young children. That may mean adults need to rethink how they respond to children’s behavior or talk about emotions, she said.

“It’s a bit of a relearning of the environment we grew up in and our past habits of how to deal with misbehaving children,” she said.

Schailer-Nenide said that much of a young child’s development occurs through a process called “serve and return.” Just like a game of pickleball or tennis, babies want adults to return their interactions, she says.

“Can you look back at your baby when he looks at you?” she said. “When your baby points, can you point and say, ‘Oh, what is this?'” What are we talking about? ‘ Play games with your baby and use the routine as an opportunity to communicate. ”

She said phones and other devices can interfere with this process and take parents away from interactions that are important to young children’s development.

Schukyler-Nenide said that as children get older, they also need adults to help them name the emotions they are feeling and understand how to process them. She said adults too often assume that children will learn this on their own or punish them in response to what they see as misbehavior.

Hall said it’s important for parents and guardians to find time each day to listen to their children.

“It’s open communication without prejudice,” she said. “Don’t put your parents’ intentions in it. Listen to them, hear how they’re doing, and be able to offer some support.”

Hall said childcare workers and pediatricians also play an important role in identifying mental health problems early on in children. She said the state has developed a consultation program with infant mental health experts so that professionals can learn what causes behavioral problems and how best to respond.