From Shelly Grorud and Tari Niemeyer
McLeod County Thrive Action Team Coordinators Hutchinson

Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day is today, May 8.

Research shows that there have been rising numbers of children birth to 5 years old who are experiencing mental health concerns. You may be asking, “So, what is early childhood mental health?”
Early childhood mental health is synonymous with healthy social and emotional development. Mental health in children can be explained by the child’s ability to:

• Self-regulate and express emotions appropriately.
• Form strong relationships and attachments.
• Interact and explore the environment.

It is important to note that “mental health” is not the same as “mental illness.” All of us have mental health, just as we all have a diet. However, some people’s mental health and diets are healthier than others.

Look at the children in your life. Is their mental health like a well-balanced, healthy diet? Are they able to self-regulate their emotions, form relationships, and curiously interact within their environment? Or, is it like a pop and candy diet? Are they unable to express their emotions appropriately, have a difficult time forming attachments to people, and have little curiosity to interact with and explore their environment? If it resembles the latter, we encourage you to make steps to assist these children and families.

By being proactive, long-term problems and expenses may be avoided. There are many great resources, like family practice doctors, public health and Early Childhood Family Education programs, to assist in promoting healthy social-emotional development. For example, by working together we will be able to assist in healthier children, families and communities.