Racine Sun

With May being Children's Mental Health Month, Racine Collaborative for Children’s Mental Health officials are working to bring more attention to the issue.

“Our children are the most important community asset that we have,” Racine Collaborative for Children’s Mental Health Manager, Julie Hueller, said in an article published on the Racine Unified School District (RUSD) website. “In order to assist our children to be the best version of themselves, the mental well-being of our children needs to be attended to by everyone that interacts with our children.”

Hueller stressed it is important to teach parents about signs to look for in children who may be struggling, according to the article.

“As a parent when we start noticing these changes in our children, the first thing we should do is to bring them into the conversation to find out what is happening from their perspective,” Hueller said. “Over the last two years of (the) pandemic, we have certainly seen an increase in mental health symptoms in our children. Helping children identify how they are feeling and helping them cope with these feelings is a great first step.”

Signs to look for that could indicate a child is experiencing mental health concerns include sleeping and eating patterns, social isolation, sad mood that is consistent and lasting more than two weeks with no improvement, irritability, mood swings, anxiety, talking negatively about themselves and feelings of hopelessness, the district’s website stated.

“Having someone to talk to” and listen can make a big difference, according to the website.