It’s September and whether your child returns to school this week or has been back to school for a couple weeks already, now is the time to check in on their mental well-being. Recently released data on Wisconsin students’ well-being shows persistent problems: more than half reported anxiety; more than a third reported feeling sad and hopeless every day for over two weeks, a mark of depression; a quarter of girls seriously considered suicide and a fifth of high schoolers self-harm. The Wisconsin State Office of Children’s Mental Health (OCMH) highlights these trends and more in the one-pager, Key Facts in Youth Mental Health. Only a quarter (26%) of high school students get sufficient sleep every night. Getting the recommended amount of sleep at night is critical to mental health. Caregivers can prioritize the importance of sleep by removing all screens from bedrooms at night. Having screen free bedrooms can also help reduce online bullying and unhealthy digital habits. OCMH’s Key Facts highlights the fact that more than half (54%) of high school girls say bullying is a problem in their school. A large share of girls (67%) report significant problems with anxiety, and sadly, about a quarter (24%) have seriously considered suicide. That translates to 93,000 high school girls who were feeling suicidal last year. “Clearly, we must address youth mental health,” said OCMH Director Linda Hall. “We are facing a big problem,” continued Hall, “but I want to reassure caregivers that there are actions families can take which have been shown to directly improve children’s mental health.” First, adhere to sleep routines. Second, create or update your family’s media plan covering times and spaces that are screen-free. Third, identify extracurricular activities that provide in-person connections for your child. These might be music lessons, sports, or after-school clubs. “The type of activity doesn’t matter as much as giving your child something to look forward to outside of the classroom,” explains Hall. Back-to-school time can be both exciting and stressful. Helping your student develop healthy routines and learn to cope with stress will set them up for a successful school year, as well as improve their mental health,” according to Hall. OCMH has a visual guide of strategies that help kids to cope with stress. The Child Mind Institute has a helpful back-to-school resource guide: https://childmind.org/
