Raising healthy children takes a watchful eye

At the Family Educational Network of Weld County, Head Start and Migrant/Seasonal Head Start, we recognize that mental health is a key component in a young child's healthy development in order to learn, grow and lead productive lives.

Infants and toddlers can have serious social and emotional (mental health) disorders such as depression, anxiety, attachment disorders and traumatic stress disorders. Infants can experience real depression as early as 4 months of age.

Preschool children face expulsion rates three times higher than children in K-12, partly because of lack of attention to social-emotional (mental health) needs. School success begins before kindergarten by focusing on early achievement of social and emotional milestones to prevent school problems later on. The emotional, social and behavioral competency of young children is a strong predictor of academic performance in elementary school. Between 4 and 6 percent of preschoolers have serious emotional and/or behavioral disorders that are affecting healthy functioning and learning. One out of five children has a diagnosable mental disorder and one in 10 children have mental health problems severe enough to impact home, child care, school and the community. As much as 75 to 80 percent of children with mental health problems do not receive needed services.

Factors that predict mental health problems can be identified in the early years using developmentally appropriate screening and assessments.

The Family Educational Network of Weld County, Head Start and Migrant/Seasonal Head Start screen all children within 45 days of enrollment and provide the necessary support services to develop the whole child.

Healthy mental health promotes a range of positive behavioral skills which develop during early childhood and continue to grow over time. These skills have a lifelong impact on a person's relationships. When skills, early intervention and support are not provided, some of the potential risks include: inability to manage impulses, and regulate their own behavior; increase expulsion from child care; unable to learn to identify and start to understand their own feelings; difficulty managing strong emotions and express them in a constructive manner; inability to recognize emotions and emotional cues in others; lack capability to develop empathy for others; find it difficult to establish and sustain close relationships and friendships; lack of confidence, cooperativeness and the capacity to communicate.

Researchers believe that children with underdeveloped social and emotional skills are at risk for later problems in school, work and adult relationships. Early childhood education that includes activities that support social and emotional development as part of the daily schedule helps to build children from the inside out and teaches them how to initiate and maintain healthy relationships. Look for programs in your area through your local school district, the county's department of social services - division of child care and Head Start.

Sharon Benson is the mental health specialist for the Family Educational Network of Weld County Head Start and Migrant/Seasonal Head Start. She is a Greeley resident.