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Do you know what is huffing?

Your kid’s abuse of substances might be closer to home than you think. It might even start earlier than you imagine.

In this article, you’ll find out what huffing is, what its effects are and how the spot the warning signs that your kids are abusing inhalants.

What is Huffing?

Huffing is another term used for inhalant abuse. It could be happening under your nose in your home and is dangerous for your kids.

Inhalant abuse is the inhaling of volatile household products or substances also called inhalants to get high.

What are Inhalants?

Inhalants are substances inhaled through the mouth or nose. Inhalants can be categorised as solvents, aerosol sprays, gases and nitrites. They are typically products found in the house or workplace and may include spray paint, gas, glue, markers, paint thinner, cleaning products and even nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas).

Inhalants are popular among teens because they have a psychoactive effect and they are easy to access. The substances are inhaled by huffing, sniffing, snorting or bagging. The high from the inhaled substances are not long-lasting and users risk overdose through repeated and frequent use. 

Statistics on Huffing

According to a National Survey in America, 21.7 million children aged 12 years old and over have used inhalants in their lifetime. Additionally, research shows that after marijuana, inhalants were the second most widely used drugs for 8^th and 10^th Graders; and the third most widely used drug for 12^th Graders.

Children with family issues, depression and from a disadvantaged background are more likely to abuse inhalants. There was no difference noted between girls and boys who used inhalants. The most common inhalants used by children are glue, shoe polish, toluene, gasoline, lighter fluids and spray paint.

Research also found that inhalant abuse is linked to depression, antisocial behaviour, suicidality and later drug use. Inhalant abuse before 16 years old was a predictor of later heroin use.

What are the Effects of Huffing?

Teenagers typically use inhalants because they are accessible and they underestimate the serious effects of huffing. However, substance abuse like huffing can cause irreversible damage or death to the user. Some of the common serious effects of huffing are:

1. brain damage
2. organ damage (liver, kidney, and heart)
3. lead poisoning
4. Foetal damage (if done during pregnancy)
5. Heart attack
6. Death

How do you know if your child is abusing inhalants?

It is important to pay attention to your kids, their behaviour, attitudes and physical appearance to give you warning signs that they are abusing inhalants. If you suspect your child is huffing, bagging, sniffing or inhaling substances, look for the following signs:

1. The smell of chemicals on their breath or clothes
2. Paint or other substance stains on their face, hands and/or clothes.
3. Hidden empty spray or solvent containers
4. Hidden rags, clothing or other fabrics soaked with chemicals
5. They seem drunk or disoriented
6. They have slurred speech
7. They are nauseous or have lost their appetite
8. Changes in their behaviour or concentration, including, irritability, lack of coordination, inattentiveness and/or depression

How to Prevent Inhalant Abuse?

“Prevention is better than cure”. That’s what my grandmother used to say. And this is still very true today, especially, in the case of inhalant abuse. Preventing your kids from using volatile substances could prevent brain damage and death, not to mention on your part, years of worry and heartache. Here are some ways to prevent inhalants abuse:

1. Talk to your kids about the dangers of this practice. Let them know about how the chemicals they are sniffing can affect their brain or health.

2. Keep household products who know that can be used as inhalants out of your children’s reach.

3. Monitor the usage of common household products and not any changes in your kid’s behaviour if you suspect their abuse these products.

4. Seek help and speak to a professional if you suspect that your child is abusing substances.

Final Word on Huffing

Inhalant abuse or huffing is drug abuse. Besides, the potential effects which include organ damage and possible death, huffing can lead to abuse of hard drugs in later life.

If you think your child is abusing inhalants, you must get help as soon as possible. There are many resources available for parents who suspect their children are huffing or sniffing glue or paint.

The post What is Huffing? The Danger Under Your Nose appeared first on Childhood Central.

Recently I stumbled upon a realisation that I had developed foreign language anxiety.

I moved to France last year to fulfil a long-held dream of living there and learning to speak French. I was doing well and swiftly excelled from basic French level A1 to intermediate level B2 in six months. I had become conversational and understood most of the language’s grammatical structures.

However, by the 7th-month mark, I began to feel burnt out. I mean, how could I not be? I was on an intensive programme of 20 hours per week. I started losing focus in class and developed a fear of communicating. At first, it was with strangers and then increasingly, with my teachers. I began to forget the simple things I had learnt in A1 and harshly criticised myself when I made these mistakes. I felt judged every time I spoke French.

This resulted in an intense fear of communicating with everyone and tensions inside me that made me avoid classes.

Like many situations we go through in life, we often falsely believe that we are the only ones carrying that burden. The truth is if we only open up to others and share our struggles, we will find that what we think of as our unique problem is common and affects more of us than we realise.

Through this experience, I learnt that the difficulties I started experiencing in my language learning journey were not unique to me but were a common problem that learners of a second language have faced. Knowing this has made a difference to me. Now I can find solutions to the problem.

You must be asking, what is foreign language anxiety and what does it have to do with your child?  Stick around, and I’ll tell you.

With schools back in session, many students are set to start a foreign language course because it’s perhaps compulsory or they have plans to study or work abroad. Whatever the reason for your child to learn a new language, you should know about a potential pitfall that might derail their foreign language plans.

Let’s talk about foreign language learning anxiety.

What is Foreign Language Anxiety?

Foreign language anxiety is a form of situation-specific anxiety that arises within the context of learning a foreign or second language. This is different from children who experience trait anxiety or generalised anxiety disorder.

With foreign language anxiety, students develop anxious and worrying feelings about their ability to learn, understand and communicate in their target foreign language.

Language learning anxiety can occur at any point during the language learning journey and can be caused by negative experiences during the language learning process.

This results in the student having negative self-concepts, it discourages students from learning, they start to avoid the classroom and may even give up on learning the new language completely.

Researchers have identified 3 aspects of foreign language learning anxiety and how they can be manifested in students.

a. Communication apprehension is the difficulty that students experience in understanding and expressing the target foreign language.

b. Fear of negative evaluation is when students develop a fear of making mistakes and being corrected for the mistakes they made during the language process.

c. Test anxiety occurs when it’s time for students to take their language assessments.

Often foreign language learning anxiety is an interplay between students’ characteristics, teaching styles and the learning environment.

While a level of moderate language anxiety can drive students to do better, high levels of foreign language anxiety have a debilitating effect resulting in students performing poorly in achieving their foreign language goals.

Getting beyond the phase of language learning anxiety in the language journey could be the difference between attaining proficiency in the target language or not at all.

What are the signs of Language Learning Anxiety?

Before I was able to identify that I developed foreign language learning anxiety, I realised a change in my behaviour which made me know that there was something not quite right.

If you suspect that your child has developed language learning anxiety, look out for these commons signs:

a. Intense fear and/or worry about language classes

b. Loss of excitement and interest in language learning

c. Inability to focus on language learning tasks and activities

d. Worries about being laughed at by others when participating in language activities

e. Does not want to participate in language learning activities, particularly in speaking activities

f. Avoids going to language classes

g. Gets agitated and worries about upcoming language tests/assessments

h. Overly critical of their language mistakes

Statistics on Foreign Language Learning

According to research, one-third to half of students have reported experiencing foreign or second language learning anxiety.

Foreign language learning statistics show that 20% of students are enrolled in a foreign language course in the US, meanwhile, this percentage is higher outside the United States, with 70% of students in the UK enrolled in a foreign language class, 92%  in Europe and 67% in China.

If your child is not growing up in a bilingual home, the other method of learning a foreign language is through foreign language classes. This is why knowing how foreign language learning anxiety can affect your child is important.

Benefits of Learning a Second Language

In an increasingly globalised world, having a second language can offer children many benefits when they grow up. This is why many parents want their children to learn a second language and why schools give children a head start by making learning a second language compulsory as part of their academic development.

Here are some of the benefits of learning a foreign language:

1. Increased Opportunities for Work

Many companies have multiple locations across the globe and often seek bilingual employees to move around when the need arises. Similarly, businesses often find themselves seeking international talent when local talents are available to fill specific job posts.

2. Cultural Connections

Having a second language makes it so much easier to travel the world and interact with different cultures. The communication barriers are instantly torn down with the ability to speak the local language of your host country.

3. Cognitive Development

Many studies have shown that bilingual children have an advantage in cognitive, problem solving and social understanding skills over monolingual children.

Similarly, bilingual teens outperformed monolingual teens when tested on various tasks that assessed executive brain functions like attention and working memory.

How to Help Your Child Overcome Foreign Language Anxiety?

Now that you know what is foreign language anxiety, how do you help your child deal with it?

Here are a few things to remember when you develop strategies to help your child overcome foreign language learning anxiety:

1. Language Learning is Not a Sprint; It’s a Journey.

Language learning is a journey, which means that it takes time to learn the nuances of a language. There will be grammatical speedbumps, pronunciation blunders and disconnects between classroom knowledge and everyday talk.

Native speakers of your target foreign language spend their whole lives perfecting that language through multiple modes of communication and situations. As a language learner in a classroom, your child will not have the full spectrum of these experiences. 

However, the journey continues with each milestone achieved, your child is so much closer to her destination.

2. Set Realistic Language Goals

Sometimes we experience anxious feelings when our personal goals do not meet reality which can be the case for language learning. Perhaps, your child has set extremely high goals for acquiring a new language that is unrealistic for their current situation.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with wanting to aim high, you should talk with your child about the other activities he has planned for the academic year.

In doing so, you can decide together if his language goals can be met with all the other competing activities. It is helpful to prioritise what needs to be done to achieve his desired language goals.

3. Everybody is Different with Different Learning Styles

Some children are naturally talkative and outgoing, while some are more reserved and prefer the company of a few.

Similarly, some children learn better as part of a group, some learn better during play, while others need to review information more than once and take a lot of notes to remember what was taught.

The fact is, every child has a different learning style that will correspond to her personality.

In overcoming foreign language learning anxiety, it could be useful to help your child to figure out her learning style and work with her to make the best of her language-learning experience.

4. Celebrate Small Wins

When I finally realised that I had developed foreign language anxiety, I was able to step back and reassess my relationship with the language. I took myself back to the beginning of my language journey when I was very curious and loved French. During this time, learning something new was fun and exciting.

I used to revel in the fact that I conjugated a verb correctly from memory. It was these small wins that helped to build my confidence that I was learning and progressing. 

So, I started to celebrate the small wins again. Whether this was pronouncing a difficult word correctly, getting my “r” right, or going to the pharmacy and fulfilling my prescription using only my French. Celebrating the small wins worked and has helped my confidence and reduced my language anxiety.

5. Language Learning is a Process; It’s Okay to Make Mistakes

Like everything in life, language learning is a process and your child is going to make mistakes. Not only that, everyone makes mistakes every day, it’s the nature of being human.

The other thing to know about mistakes is that we learn from them. Mistakes are an important aspect of learning and development, even in language learning. However, as time passes and we achieve mastery of our tasks, we will make fewer mistakes and achieve our goals.

The process of learning a new language is the same as every new activity we undertake. It requires patience, love, passion and curiosity. Happy learning and Bon Courage!

The post What is Foreign Language Anxiety and How to Help Your Child Power Through and Overcome It? appeared first on Childhood Central.

As more children are online than ever before, knowing about cyberbullying and how to help your child deal with it is an important aspect of modern-day parenting. This article will outline what you need to know about and how to help your child deal with cyberbullying.

Our world has changed a lot in recent years. We are more connected to and with technology than at any other time in our history.

The same can be said for the present generation of children who are more connected to technology than any other generation in history. COVID-19 also fuelled the rapid increase of children on the internet when online learning became necessary during the pandemic.

With increased access to the internet and mobile phones, there are major advantages and disadvantages to our children’s development and interaction with technology.

A key disadvantage of children’s use of the internet is cyberbullying. Understanding how to deal with cyberbullying is an essential part of every parent’s toolbox.

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is a form of bullying with aggressive actions by a person or a group that are designed to hurt, embarrass or cause harm to someone.

Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying is done through technology such as social media, text messages, email, gaming platforms, and other electronic media. Cyberbullying can take place alongside traditional bullying.

Statistics on Cyberbullying

According to recent data in the USA, in 2019, 95% of 3- to 18-year-old children had internet access at home. 

Globally, it is estimated that 1 in 3 children uses the internet, with the most popular device being the mobile phone.

Data from EU Kids Online research show that in 2011 children spent an average of 88 minutes per day on the Internet. While recent data show that in 2018, 12-15-year-old children in the United Kingdom spent on average 20.5 hours per week on the internet.

As children spend more time online, cyberbullying becomes more likely. A 2020 survey in the USA showed that over 20% of children 9-12 years old have experienced cyberbullying in one way or another, either through witnessing it, being a victim or being a perpetrator.

Meanwhile, one in three young people from 30 countries reported that they have been a victim of cyberbullying.

Not surprisingly, social media is the main source of cyberbullying, with Instagram (42%) and Facebook (37%) being the most used media for cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is done across multiple social media sites among them are Snapchat, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Twitter.

What are the Signs of Cyberbullying?

Knowing about the signs of cyberbullying can help your child deal with cyberbullying. It is also important to know and recognise if your child is the one bullying other children online.

To ensure that you get a grip on the situation before it gets out of hand, look out for these warning signs of cyberbullying.

Signs My Child is Cyberbullied 

1. Stops using the internet and/or devices

2. Appears nervous and jumpy when using devices

3. Avoids going to school

4. Appears agitated after going online

5. Develops sleep problems, either oversleeping or not sleeping enough

6. Becomes withdrawn from family and friends

7. Develops an increased or decreased appetite

8. Seems depressed

9. Expresses suicidal thoughts or talks frequently about the meaningless of life

10. Loses interest in things that used to matter

11. Avoids discussions about their online activity

12. Avoids spending time with peers

Signs My Child is Bullying Others Online 

1. Secretive about online activity

2. Uses devices at odd hours at night

3. Shows anger when not able to use or access devices

4. Avoids sharing content that seems overly amusing

5. Avoids discussions about online activity

6. Increased isolation from family

7. Has multiple social media accounts or uses fake accounts

8. Exhibiting increased behavioural issues at school

9. Appears not to have any concern or care about other teens

10. Displays violent tendencies

What Are the Effects of Cyberbullying?

The effects of cyberbullying can be devastating for your child. There have been multiple research on the negative effects of social media on children’s mental health, and cyberbullying is a contributing factor.

As mentioned above, social media is the prime medium for cyberbullying amongst its users. Children’s experiences online will differ based on who they interact with and their support systems. However, these are some common effects of cyberbullying on children.   

1. Social anxiety

2. Depression

3. Suicidal thoughts

4. Avoidance of social media

5. Self-harm

6. Avoidance of school

7. Eating disorders

8. Substance abuse

How to Deal with Cyberbullying

Having all of the information will help your child to navigate the internet safely and protect them as much as possible from cyberbullying.

Here are some tips to help your child deal with cyberbullying.

1. Establish trust with your child so that he feels comfortable discussing issues of cyberbullying with you.

2. Talk to your child about internet safety and how to protect themselves online.

3. Speak to your child honestly about cyberbullying so that if and when it occurs, they can recognise it and know what to do.

4. Assure your child that she will not lose her device and internet privileges.

5. Identify the bully and block them from your child’s contact.

6. Report incidents of cyberbullying to the school’s administrators.

7. Report the bully and the content to the social media platform that your child uses.

The post Is Your Child Being Bullied Online? How to Deal With Cyberbullying appeared first on Childhood Central.

Childhood anxiety disorders cause extreme fears, worry, and changes in children’s behaviour, sleep, eating and mood. Childhood anxiety disorders include generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, selective mutism, specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive behaviour, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you have watched episodes of the Red Table Talk, you would know that Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Gammy do not shy away from tackling interesting, and sometimes controversial subjects. And, one of the latest episodes of the series was no different.

In the Red Table Talk episode titled Kim Basinger and Ireland Baldwin: Living with Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Phobias, Ireland Baldwin and Willow Smith discuss their experiences with childhood anxiety. Ireland spoke candidly about her mental illness and its impact on her life. In this conversation, Willow Smith shared her own experiences with childhood anxiety and how it affected life and her relationship with her mother.

In this article, I present the 6 things I learned from their open conversation about childhood anxiety.

Although I watched the entire interview, the main focus of this article is the conversation between Willow Smith and Ireland Baldwin.

1. Anxiety is a Struggle for Many People Globally.

At the start of her conversation, Willow Smith said that 264 million people globally experience some form of anxiety or panic attacks. That’s a lot of people.

It turns out that the estimates are higher than that. According to official global estimates, 284 million have an anxiety disorder which ranges from 2.5 to 7% by country. This estimate puts anxiety disorders as the most prevalent mental illness disorder in the world with more women (63%) than men experiencing an anxiety disorder.

For childhood anxiety, global estimates show that 3.6% of children aged 10-14 years old and 4.6% of children aged 15-19 years old have an anxiety disorder.

2. Mental Illness Stigma Equals Shame.

“I didn’t want to call it anxiety for a long time because I think it makes you feel weak. It makes you feel like you’re put in a box of sorts.”

Ireland Baldwin.

Ireland Baldwin said that she felt shame in having a mental illness, and because of that, she did not want to recognise that she had anxiety.

What Ireland Baldwin described in this interview is mental illness self-stigma. Mental illness self-stigma is when someone with a mental health disorder turns the public’s perception, prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination about mental illness onto themselves.

One study found that African-American children had greater negativity towards others with a mental health disorder which was perpetuated by their parents and other influential people in their lives (Kranke, Floersch, Kranke, & Munson, 2011). Also, Black boys were more likely than girls and other racial groups to stigmatise other children with mental health disorders (DuPont-Reyes, Villatoro, Phelan, & Link, 2020).

Research shows that mental illness self-stigma was linked to people not seeking help for their mental health disorders (Shnyder, Rodoslaw, Groth, & Shultze-Lutter, 2018). For children with anxiety disorders, the stigma around mental health disorders can affect their seeking and getting treatment.

3. Childhood Anxiety and Public Scrutiny: A Bad Combination.

Both Willow and Ireland said their anxiety worsened with public scrutiny and public perception. Being in the gaze of the public eye affected the way they felt about themselves and they struggled with body image issues.

Luckily, many children do not have to experience their mental health disorders on the public stage. However, these days, many children are on social media, and this would be the average child’s equivalence to growing up in the public eye like Willow Smith and Ireland Baldwin.

Research has shown the negative impact of social media on children’s mental health. Children who used social media more had poor quality sleep, lower self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety and depression (Cleland Woods & Scott, 2016). Similarly, as in the cases of Willow and Ireland, the added pressure of being bullied, talked about and criticised has led to poorer mental health for many children.

4. My Parent Does Not Understand My Childhood Anxiety.

In the same episode, Willow shared that her mother did not understand her childhood anxiety; Jada minimised Willow’s issues and made her feel like a brat. According to Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow had a good life and had not experienced the hardships she endured as a child. However, for Willow, her mother not understanding her childhood anxiety created a distance between them, which she had to forgive her mother for later.

On the flip side, Ireland said her mother supported her through her experience of childhood anxiety. Kim Basinger, Ireland’s mother, had her own issues with childhood anxiety and immediately recognised its development in Ireland when she was a child.

Research shows that supportive parenting can reduce children’s anxiety symptoms and is just as effective as cognitive behavioural therapy.

The difference in how both mothers responded to their children’s anxiety made a difference in the lived experiences of both Willow Smith and Ireland Baldwin. Not knowing what anxiety was or how to recognise it caused Jada Pinkett Smith to minimise her daughter’s experience with the mental disorder; this led to pain for Willow and a fracture in their relationship.

5. Anxiety and Substance Abuse.

Ireland talked about anxiety and substance abuse. She mentioned that she drank and took pills which resulted in her going to rehab. The combination of anxiety, substance abuse, and being in a bad romantic relationship left her feeling “lifeless” and suicidal during her youth.

Like Ireland Baldwin, many children who experience anxiety disorders also abuse substances. Research shows that people who have high levels of anxiety use alcohol to lessen their symptoms and cope with anxious feelings (McCauley Ohannessian, 2014). One study found that African American boys with higher levels of generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder used more substances than their white peers and girls. Meanwhile, there was no link between childhood anxiety and substance use in African American girls (McCauley Ohannessian, 2014).

6. Anxiety Runs in the Family.

Ireland’s mom, Kim Basinger, also has anxiety. During the interview, Kim Basinger spoke about her own experiences with anxiety which started in childhood and was linked to her mother’s anxiety. It was clear to see the thread of anxiety running through three generations of women which affected their childhoods.

Similarly, Jada Pinkett Smith talked about her own experiences with anxiety but she did not recognise it. For her, this failure to recognise her own experiences with anxiety affected her response and understanding of Willow’s childhood anxiety.

There is enough data to show that anxiety runs in families. Studies have shown that children of parents with anxiety disorders are more likely to develop anxiety in childhood. One study showed that children with anxiety disorders were two and three times more likely to have at least one parent with an anxiety disorder (Telman, van Steensel, Maric, & Bögels, 2018).

Anxiety disorders are a combination of genetic and environmental factors and it is estimated that anxiety is 30% inherited. While genes might expose children to anxiety, certainly, their environment will play an equally important role in the development of anxiety.

Did you watch the Red Table Talk interview? What do you think about what was shared?

References

1. Cleland Woods, H., & Scott, H. (2016). #Sleepyteens: Social media use in adolescence is associated with poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. 41-49. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.05.008
2. DuPont-Reyes, M. J., Villatoro, A. P., Phelan, J., & Link, B. G. (2020). Adolescent Views of Mental Illness Stigma: An Intersectional Lens. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(2), 201-211. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ort0000425
3. Kranke, D., Floersch, J., Kranke, B. O., & Munson, M. R. (2011, August 1). A Qualitative Investigation of Self-Stigma Among Adolescents Taking Psychiatric Medication. Psychiatry Online. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.62.8.pss6208_0893
4. McCauley Ohannessian, C. (2014). Anxiety and Substance Use during Adolescence. Subst Abus, 35(4), 418-425. doi:10.1080/08897077.2014.953663
5. Shnyder, N., Rodoslaw, P., Groth, N., & Shultze-Lutter, F. (2018). Association between mental health-related stigma and active help-seeking: Systematic review and meta-analysis. The British Journal of Psychiatry(210), 261-268. doi:doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.116.189464
6. Telman, L. G., van Steensel, F. J., Maric, M., & Bögels, S. M. (2018). What are the odds of anxiety disorders running in families? A family study of anxiety disorders in mothers, fathers, and siblings of children with anxiety disorders. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 27, 615-624. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5945734/pdf/787_2017_Article_1076.pdf

The post On Anxiety: 6 Things I Learned from Willow Smith’s Red Table Talk about Childhood Anxiety appeared first on Childhood Central.

As we continue Black History Month, I want to tackle an often taboo subject in the Black community: suicide, particularly, Black children’s suicides. If we are to help our children, we must have these conversations; we must destigmatize this subject and speak frankly, openly and honestly.

The theme for Black History Month 2022 is Black Health and Wellness which includes mental health. Mental health in the black community is not on par with physical health; even more so, this is the case with child mental health.

The past two years have been difficult, and many of our children are coping with innumerable challenges. Now more than ever, we need to focus on their mental health and wellness.

We need to address the growing issue of Black children’s suicide.

High Profile Suicides in the Black Community

Recently there have been two suicides of high-profile African Americans. Regina King’s son, Ian Alexander Jr, and the former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst. Both were successful and influential people in their own right, yet they both died by suicide.

In the days that followed, we learnt about their struggles with depression, and in Cheslie’s case, we learned that she had high-functioning depression. She hid her illness from everyone, even her mother, with whom she was really close.

Mental Illness and Suicide

High-functioning depression is defined as persistent depressive moods or symptoms that have persisted for more than two years in adults and at least one year in adolescents (Moch, 2011).

Not everyone who is depressed dies by suicide; however, research has found that most people who have died by suicide have suffered from mental health disorders.

Additionally, the risk of suicide has been estimated to be between 5-8% for mental disorders, such as depression, alcoholism and schizophrenia (Bradvik, 2018).

Black Children’s Suicide

In the days that followed Cheslie’s suicide, many of her close friends and colleagues commented that her suicide was such a shock to them as there were no warning signs. They wondered how could they have missed the warning signs and what they could have done differently.

The recurring theme for many people who die by suicide is in the aftermath, those close to them had little or no idea how much they were suffering. Unfortunately, in many cases in Black children’s suicide, the story is the same.

Parents, teachers, siblings and friends often reported not knowing what the children were going through. The loved ones of these children struggled with missing the warning signs in the aftermath of their deaths.

According to the American Psychological Association, children’s suicide attempts increased 73% between 1991 and 2017.

There is an upward trend in black children’s suicide. Data from the USA showed that between 2003-2017 there was an increase in the 15- to 17-year-old age groups with a 4.9% increase and among girls with a 6.6% increase (Sheftall et al., 2021).

Additionally, the rate of suicide among Black children in children aged 5-12 has doubled in the past 15 years. Meanwhile, data show that Black children’s suicide rate under 13 years old is twice as higher as the rate for White children.

In my native Jamaica, it is difficult to get official data on child suicide rates. However, between June 2020 and December 2021, I found seven reported cases of child suicide in the press, with all but one of the children being girls. The children were aged between 8 and 17 years old. Yet, this is still a taboo subject in our community.

COVID-19 and Black Children’s Mental Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has further compounded the issue for children as growing research has pointed to COVID’s negative impact on children’s mental health and emotions. So much so that the UN has sounded the alarm of an impending crisis. 

The impact of COVID-19 on children’s mental health is particularly worrying for Black children as black communities were the hardest hit by the pandemic.

Research also shows that child mental health during the pandemic was more likely impacted by stressors within the family, such as parents losing their jobs and the death of a close family member.

Risk Factors for Child Suicide in Black Children

Mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and trauma pose a significant risk for child suicide. These are already challenging issues for children, but Black children face additional challenges such as poverty, racism, toxic stress and punitive discipline at home that put them at a greater risk of suicide.

Let us also not forget that mental health disorders have an onset in adolescence, with 34% of people affected by the age of 14 and 48.4% before 18 years old.

So then, what are the warning signs that a child is planning or thinking of suicide?

What are the Suicide Warning Signs?

Knowing the warning signs of suicide is just of the strategies for suicide prevention. This list may not be exhaustive; however, below, you will find the common suicide warning signs:

1. Talking about dying or not wanting to be here, including mentions of harming self.
2. Change in personality that causes children to be withdrawn, sad, anxious, irritable and/or tired.
3. Change in behaviour that includes difficulty concentrating and/or risky or reckless behaviour. Some children might even stop or lose interest in their routines.
4. There is a change in sleep patterns that may include insomnia and nightmares.
5. There is a change in eating patterns, such as overeating or not eating much.
6. Loss of self-control, including harming self and others.

Some people believe that asking children if they are having suicidal thoughts will put ideas of suicide in their minds. This is not true. Taking that first step to having a conversation with a child who has suicidal thoughts or exhibiting suicidal behaviours might just be the thing that saves his/her life.

If you suspect that your child or a child who is close to you might be at risk of attempting suicide, you must not hesitate to act.

Equip yourself with the necessary information that you will need to support your child. This includes the numbers for suicide-prevention hotlines, and child and adolescent therapy and counsellors near you.

Resource

Sources

Bradvik, L. (2018). Suicide Risk and Mental Disorders. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Moch, S. (2011). Dysthymia: More than Minor Depression. South African Pharmaceutical, 38-43.

Sheftall, A. H., Vakil, F., Ruch, D. A., Boyd, R. C., Lindsey, M. A., & Bridge, J. A. (2021). Black Youth Suicide: Investigation of Current Trends and Precipitating Circumstances. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

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Is it magical thinking to realise that Christmas will soon be upon us? Over the next four weeks, our airwaves and TVs will be flooded with Christmas songs and movies. The main feature of these is the gift-giving, jolly man called Santa Claus.

Although different in many ways from the European and North American countries where the legend of Santa Claus originated, in the Caribbean, Santa Claus is no stranger to children.

Generally, Santa was introduced to us through the movies, stories and songs that we watched, heard and sang along to every Christmas. Santa Claus is synonymous with Christmas because he does not pop up any other time during the year.

Whether or not Santa was a real person or a folklore legend, globally, many parents who celebrate Christmas encourage their children to believe in Santa Claus. Some parents even go as far as dressing up as Santa for children every year. This belief in Santa is an aspect of magical thinking, but what is it and should you encourage it?

What is Magical Thinking?

Magical thinking or fantastical thinking is the belief that your thoughts and wishes can affect or change the outcome of events in the physical world (Subbotsky, 2014).

However, according to psychology, magical thinking is a normal feature of children’s cognitive development.

According to Piaget, during the preoperational stage of development, between toddlerhood and early childhood, children’s intelligence develops with the emergence of language and the ability to use symbols (Huitt & Hummel, 2003).

These abilities allow children to project their minds onto their environment. This capacity gives children a very active imagination during this phase. So, fantasy now becomes a feature of children’s thoughts and play.

Should You Encourage Children’s Magical Thinking?

Fantastical thinking is a feature of normal child development.

Besides the legend of Santa Claus, parents engage and encourage their children’s magical thinking regularly. With that I mean, stories of myths and legends, fairy tales, and exposure to animism. These are all examples of magical thinking.

Animism is giving creatures and inanimate objects human and spiritual characteristics.

Animism is the main feature of children’s programmes, with examples like Pepper Pig, Bugs Bunny and the Lion King, popular in many countries around the world.

Often, culture is transmitted through myths, legends and folklore to children and this is the basis of magical thinking.

Magical Thinking in Psychology

Psychologists have noted that magical thinking benefits children’s cognitive development.

A research study showed that fantastical thinking positively impacted children’s cognitive development in creativity and art (Subbotsky, Hysted, & Jones, 2010).

The study found that showing children the Harry Potter movie before they completed a creative task resulted in higher scores for those children when compared to children who did not see the movie before completing the same task.

Additionally, the evolution of fantastical thinking to adult imagination is responsible for the films, literature, architecture and art that we enjoy, both as children and adults.

In fact, contrary to beliefs, we do not lose fantastical thinking when we become adults. It is a fundamental part of the human mind and continues throughout our lifespan (Subbotsky, 2014).

Research has shown that 40% of Americans believe in devils, ghosts and spiritual healing.

Our capacity for fantastical thinking is the basis of the fantasy genre in movies and literature that have targeted children and adults alike. TV series and movies like the Game of Thrones, the Twilight Series, X-Men, The Avengers, and of course, Harry Potter are global successes.

The Danger of Magical Thinking

Although fantastical thinking is a normal aspect of the human mind, there may be cause for concern when children’s magical thinking becomes an obsession.

In this sense, parents should be discouraged from engaging their children’s magical thinking as it could be a sign of a mental illness.

For example, a study has shown the link between children’s magical thinking and obsessive thoughts and behaviour which, could develop into obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD) (Subbotsky, 2014).

So, having navigated the stresses of living through a global pandemic, I think both adults can children can indulge in a little bit of magic this Christmas season.

What do you think about encouraging children’s belief in Santa Claus?

Sources

Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (2003). Piaget’s Theory of Cognitve Development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Retrieved from https://intranet.newriver.edu/images/stories/library/stennett_psychology_articles/Piagets%20Theory%20of%20Cognitive%20Development.pdf

Subbotsky, E. (2014). Magical thinking: From Piaget to advertising Psychological Review. 4, 10-13.

Subbotsky, E., Hysted, C., & Jones, N. (2010). Watching Films with Magical Content Facilitates Creativity in Children. Sage Journal, 111(1), 261-277. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/04.09.11.PMS.111.4.261-277

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This year’s World Mental Health Day is being observed at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the inequalities in our world.

One of the major consequences of the pandemic has been its negative impact on mental health.  While the unequal nature of our societies has always been a cause for concern, it seems like COVID-19 has opened a chasm that cannot be quickly closed or ignored.

Health systems have buckled under the weight of treating the physical illnesses of the disease. What about the invisible illness of COVID-19?

What about the vulnerable groups like children, the elderly and the poor?

According to data, COVID-19 has disrupted mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide; with the mental health sector already underfunded in many countries, it is not hard to imagine the implications of this mental health support deficit on our future societies.

A prime group for concern is our children. Research has shown the negative impact of COVID-19 on children, and governments have been warned of the impending crisis in child mental health as a result of the pandemic.

In Jamaica, where there is a 5% of expenditure allocation for child mental health services, given the pre-COVID-19 conditions in the society that contributed to child mental illness, and the rates of mental illness in children before the pandemic; unless drastic action is taken, the outlook for Jamaica is very bleak.

Existing inequalities in our country meant that poor children and children who lived in rural areas faced significant challenges getting online for school.

Many parents and guardians lost earnings because of lockdown measures leading to increased parental stress and frustrations.

In a society where pre-COVID-19, 89% of children received harsh physical punishment; the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the situation for our children with damaging effects on their mental health.

In observance of World Mental Health Day 2021, while governments plan, we can do our part in fostering our children’s mental well-being. Our children need:

1. Love

2. Safety

3. Kindness

4. Understanding

5. Protection

6. Equality

Resource

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Child mental health is a hot topic now, and rightly so. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges that have affected adults and children equally.

Although COVID-19 is not responsible for mental ill-health in some of our children, COVID-19 has exacerbated an already dire situation for many. This article is an overview of the status of child mental health in Jamaica.

What is Mental Illness?

Mental illness is a condition that involves changes in emotions, thinking or behaviour, or it can be a combination of all these.

Mental illness brings distress to the individual, and it affects their daily functions in family, social and work life.

According to research, 34% of people have an onset of a mental disorder before the age of 14, while 48.4% have an onset before age 18.

People with a mental disorder have a decreased life expectancy of 10-15 years when compared to the general population, and some risk factors for child mental ill-health are:

Considering the risk factors above and knowing that the reality of life in Jamaica for many of our children involves some or all of these, what should we expect in an overview of the status of child mental health in Jamaica?

Status of Child Mental Health in Jamaica

Findings from a recent report by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) highlighted some worrying but not surprising information on the status of child mental health in Jamaica, including major inadequacies.

Some of the inadequacies in child and adolescent mental health services include underfunding of mental health services, lack of reliable data on child mental disorders, a limited number of professionals to meet the needs of children and long wait times for appointments.

CAPRI’s situational analysis of child and adolescent mental health in Jamaica also revealed that 45% of children have experienced anxiety symptoms, 60% of children in State care have exhibited psychological problems, with 76% exhibiting maladjusted behaviours.

Meanwhile, 89% of children in Jamaica have experienced physical punishment at home. The twenty-three Child Guidance Clinics across the island see 8,000 children annually which is significantly lower than the approximately 160,000 who need help as the most common child mental health disorders are depression, anxiety, PTSD, schizophrenia, conduct and psychotic disorders.

One impact of COVID-19 on child mental health in Jamaica is that there has been a 9% decline in attendance at the Child Guidance Clinics since the start of the pandemic.

Noting the status of child mental health in Jamaica and the inadequacies of child mental health services, the report made the following recommendations:

1. Expand and scale up existing, evidence-based programmes that address children’s mental health needs.

2. Improve child mental health data collection and management.

3. Extend the behaviour management module of the teachers’ training curriculum to incorporate a mental health component.

4. Include mental wellness in the Health and Family Life Curriculum in schools.

5. Provide structured orientation and training for parents/guardians of children being treated in the public system.

6. Integrate training in mental health diagnosis and treatment in primary care, school guidance counsellors, police officers, PATH social workers, and judges.

7. Strengthen the governance system towards more structured, systematized inter-agency collaboration on children’s mental health.

8. Increase remuneration for mental health practitioners.

The CAPRI report is important because it highlights the inadequacies of mental health services for children; the consequence of inaction will be a burden for society to bear.

Amidst the warnings of a crisis in child mental health exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government needs to take note and take action.

Resource

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This article gives a practical tip on how to protect children’s emotions during COVID-19.

The rising number of COVID-19 cases on the island is cause for concern. Just like adults, children sometimes get anxious about things in their environment that they cannot control.

Although children may manifest these anxieties differently from adults, research has shown the emotional impact of COVID-19 on children, some of which are related to children’s exposure to distressing information about the virus. There are ways to protect children’s emotions during COVID-19.

Tip: Limit children’s exposure to disturbing or distressing information about COVID-19.

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It is no secret that COVID-19 has had a big impact on our lives and this is equally true for our children. Research on the impact of COVID-19 on children has so far found impacts on children’s education, nutrition and physical health but what is the emotional impact of COVID-19 on children? This article highlights research on the topic and some tips to support children’s emotions.

Due to COVID-19, face-to-face schooling in Jamaica was halted in March 2020. Online learning has since continued as many attempts to resume face-to-face schooling were disrupted by sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks and clusters all over the island.

Additionally, lockdown measures meant that people had to stay home with gatherings of any kind prohibited. These changes have had a significant emotional impact on both adults and children.

A recent study has shown that the emotional impact of COVID-19 on children was linked to their parent’s emotional regulation and level of playfulness. Children’s emotion was impacted by their exposure to stressors brought on by the pandemic.

It was found that children were more likely to be stressed if they had been exposed to disturbing information about the virus by the media, have had a close friend or family member lose their job because of the pandemic, or were in lockdown.

Children’s emotional reactions were manifested in several ways, including separation fears and clinging; anxiety and fears; excessive crying; nervous, agitated and aggressive behaviours and fear or difficulty sleeping.

The research highlights the emotional impact of COVID-19 on children with potential worrying effects on children’s mental health. This is of particular interest as research shows that children’s mental health affects their learning and overall development. 

A positive takeaway from the study is that children were less likely to be stressed from the effects of the pandemic if their parents were able to regulate their own emotions toward the virus.

The study also found that fathers were more likely to be playful with children, so their playfulness mitigated the negative emotional impact of COVID-19.

Tips to reduce the emotional impact of COVID-19 on children

Limit Disturbing Information on COVID-19

When possible, parents should limit children’s exposure to disturbing information about COVID-19 in the media.

Practice Self-Care

Parents should practice self-care and emotional regulation so that they are better able to support their children’s emotional needs. Some self-care tips for parents include meditating, doing things that you enjoy, keeping a journal or taking time to pamper yourself.

Play More

Play is important to children’s development. Taking time to play with children is not only fun but it supports their learning and promotes positive feelings about self, others and the environment. Play is a child’s work.

Monitor Children’s Emotions

Parents should monitor their children’s emotions and check for signs of abnormal moods and/or behaviours, such as those mentioned above, and seek help without hesitation.

Support Children’s Emotions

Support children to recognize their emotions and learn appropriate ways to express them. Parents can support children by talking to them about their feelings and teaching them how to label and identify those feelings.

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