Texas Children: Mental Health Matters!

In support of Children’s Mental Health Awareness week, May 6-12th, 2012, The Texas Association for Infant Mental Health (TAIMH,) and The Texas Office for Prevention of Developmental Disabilities (TOPDD,) ask you to stand with us and pledge to raise awareness of the mental health and wellness needs of all Texas children and their families. Take action & have your voice heard!

For many, it is easier to identify children’s physical needs (i.e. nutritious food, warm clothes when it is cold, bedtime at a reasonable hour, etc.) than to understand the importance of their mental health. Although a child’s mental and emotional needs may not be as observable, good mental health allows children to think clearly, develop socially and learn new skills. Children need positive relationships with adults and caregivers in their lives in order to develop self-confidence, perform well in school, and to get along with others.

Every child has mental health needs and, unfortunately, Texas is ranked 34th in the country for overall child well-being. (1) This is unacceptable. Our children deserve better and we urge others to join us in putting children first. Here are some reasons why it is now more important than ever to promote, protect and provide adequate funding for this imperative public health issue:

* Good social and emotional health is essential to overall health and well-being of all children.

* Encouragement of positive relationships in families is a valuable prevention mechanism for children’s wellness.

* Children and youth with mental health challenges and their families deserve access to services and supports that are family-driven, youth-guided and culturally appropriate (4).

* Positive interactions between adults and children and values of acceptance, respect and social inclusion should be promoted throughout all communities for children, youth and families.

* More than 14 million children and adolescents in the United States, (1 in 5), have a diagnosable mental health disorder that requires intervention or monitoring and interferes with daily functioning.(3)

* We all pay the price of living in a society in which children’s mental health is ignored.

* There are over 4 million children under the age of 11 in the great state of Texas. (2)

1) KIDS COUNT Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation. 2011, Center for Public Policy Priorities. Available online: http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Default.aspx
2) NACCRRA, 2011 http://www.naccrra.org/randd/data/docs/TX.pdf
3) US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2000. Available online:: www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home.html
4) National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health: http://ffcmh.org/national-childrens-mental-health-awareness-week/