Explore intergenerational trauma at LEARN Conference
Dr. Mariel Buqué, author of Break the Cycle, will dive into her comprehensive therapeutic approach.
What do mental health issues in young children look like?
Key Takeaways
Studies show that untreated mental health conditions in infants and toddlers leave children more vulnerable to poor health, poor performance at school, criminal justice involvement, and even suicide.
- Infants and toddlers may not always be able to talk about their mental health conditions, but they can show physical symptoms and behavioral changes that professionals are trained to notice.
- There are many proven, cost-effective therapies that can help infants and toddlers recover from traumatic events and build their resilience.
Babies and toddlers can and do suffer from mental health problems caused by trauma, neglect, biological factors, or environmental situations.
Mental health is everyone's business
According to experts, around 1 in 10 children under the age of 5 experience mental health issues.
These can be the result of biological or environmental factors, or traumatic experiences such as witnessing violence, experiencing abuse or neglect, or surviving a natural disaster or accident.
Studies show that untreated mental health conditions in infants and toddlers leave children more vulnerable to poor health, poor performance at school, criminal justice involvement, and even suicide over time.
There are lifelong implications when things don’t go well, but as with physical health, positive input in these early years creates a strong foundation that can withstand storms.”
For infants and young children, mental health and physical health are intertwined, just as they are for adults.
Infants and toddlers may not always be able to talk about their mental health conditions, but they can show physical symptoms and behavioral changes that professionals are trained to notice. These symptoms can often be overlooked or dismissed, but experts are able to tell when these are early signs of something that could become a severe mental health issue in the future.
Symptoms of two common mental health issues in young children
While these behaviors tend to be present in many children, the key is to look for these signs of potential anxiety and depression in more of a collection than individually, with special attention to frequency, duration, and intensity.
Anxiety
- Has significant difficulty sleeping, frequent night waking, bad dreams, and/or night terrors
- Expresses frequent fears and worries around various activities (e.g., going outside, going to child care) or specific things (e.g., spiders, elevators, dogs).
- Displays a short fuse with strong emotions—doesn’t have space between an upset and a full-blown tantrum
- Is clingy and fussy beyond what seems typical for their age
- Has a need to use the bathroom excessively once toilet trained, and/or other toileting struggles
- Regresses or backslides in areas of previous skills
- Frequently complains of stomachaches and not feeling well
- Doesn’t meet developmental milestones as expected
Depression
- Lack of enjoyment in common activities
- Sad and unresponsive facial expressions
- Listless body posture
- Slower physical mannerisms
- Irritable and fussy
- Trouble eating and sleeping
- Unexplained physical aches and pains
Treating mental health issues after child trauma
Even in the most challenging situations, consistent access to age-appropriate and specialized therapies can help children and their families thrive.
Because infants’ and toddlers’ brains grow so quickly, with intervention and consistent support from loving adults, they can often heal and thrive after traumatic incidents.
Success stories of trauma-informed IECMH care:
Previous slide
Next slide
The DC:0-5 Casebook helps professionals strengthen their understanding of clinical disorders in infancy and early childhood.
Addressing mental health issues in young children builds healthy adults
There are many proven, cost-effective therapies that can help infants and toddlers recover from traumatic events and build their resilience.
These therapies are developmentally appropriate and focused on the needs of each child and their caregiver. Treatments include Child-Parent Psychotherapy and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and are delivered by qualified mental health professionals. A specific focus on intergenerational trauma is often beneficial for families, as detailed by our 2024 LEARN Conference keynote speaker Dr. Mariel Buqué.
Therapies for infants and toddlers are more effective, save taxpayer dollars down the road, and are less intensive than addressing severe mental health issues later in life. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy saves an average of $1,159 per child in long-term educational, healthcare, and criminal justice costs.
We need to invest – as a country – in a specialized and diverse workforce of mental health professionals trained to work with infants and toddlers.
Take Action
Tell policymakers to prioritize infant and early childhood mental health and support healthy emotional development from the start.
