Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week -- held every year during the first week of May is a national campaign that raises awareness and funds to promote better mental health for children.

Children’s Mental Health Awareness shines a national spotlight on the importance of caring for every child’s mental health and reinforces that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy development. The unprecedented challenges of the past few years have put a spotlight on the mental health crisis facing our nation, and its heavy toll on the youngest among us – especially in underserved and marginalized communities. Children and youth are struggling with anxiety, depression and trauma, and far too many of them are facing these issues alone.

In May, and everyday we take the mental health and well-being of our children seriously, and we’re taking transformative action to ensure that struggling kids have the support they need to grow and thrive. 

During Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week we recognize the anxiety, isolation, and trauma our children and youth have weathered, as well as the incredible resilience they have shown. It’s critical that we listen to our young people and tap into their passion and creativity in reimagining our mental health system – built for and with the youth and families it serves. 

Mental health is a serious issue in modern societies. The mental health of children is even more so. According to the CDC, 1 in 6 children ages 2-8 years has a mental health condition. Of those, over 50% received treatment for their symptoms in 2022. Additional studies show that at last 1 in 5 youth ages 9-17 also experience symptoms of a diagnosable mental health condition.

Children with serious mental illness and severe emotional disturbance need full-time care and treatment. Even the family of such a child needs help to cope with the situation. This is a day to help them by encouraging them into therapy. Conditions like A.D.H.D. as well as anxiety and behavioral disorders can be diagnosed and treated to help the child have a better life.



Facts about Mental Health:

1. A.D.H.D. -Around 9.8% of children in the U.S. suffer from A.D.H.D.

   2. Depression- There are approximately 2.7 million depressed children in the U.S.

   3. Treatment- Only eight in ten children receive treatment for depression.

   4. On the rise- Anxiety and depression in children increased from 5.4% to 8.4% in 10 years.Visible by 14, 50% of mental health problems are visible by the age of 14.

Why Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day is Important:

   1. It’s a day for children

There is no greater cause than helping a child and saving them from suffering alone. This can protect them from living with any long-lasting crippling mental conditions.

   2.   It spreads mental health awareness

A mental health check is important for everyone, not just children. Some conditions can ruin the quality of life if not treated early. A mental health check could be life-changing.

   3.   It leads to widespread improvement

By celebrating this day, we are effectively raising awareness to make more people undergo treatment. The general support for children will also increase.