National Children’s Emotional Wellness Month Backed by Congressional Resolution

Children’s mental health and well-being should be of utmost concern to everyone. Their emotional wellness has been tested by the severity of events they’ve endured. Children today live in a world where violence is normalized, crime is rampant, and school shootings are common. Pandemics and health crises arise. And the world doesn’t feel safe.

A congressional resolution, The National Children’s Emotional Wellness Month, is proposed for September to increase public support and awareness for the emotional health and wellness of our children.

Children Who Struggle

Although 1 to 5 children in America experience mental health challenges, as few as 20 percent receive the specialized services they need. The resolution that’s proposed by Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Young Kim aim to overcome this imbalance by making mental health care more available to children who need it.

Coleman and Young hope to shed light on challenges children face and inspire national support and awareness for children’s emotional wellness.

Crisis of Despair

A vast number of young people across the country are dealing with mental health issues. It has become a crisis affecting our youth, with too many despairing over their lives and the circumstances surrounding them. Prioritizing children’s emotional wellness is not a one-sided concern in Congress. It is a bipartisan responsibility that impacts both sides.

Each person in Congress should recognize the need to ensure that all children receive the care and support they need to grow into healthy, well-balanced, and productive adults. This resolution not only affects children, but also parents, educators, caregivers, and the industries they enter into in the future. This mental health crisis should be a concern for everyone across this nation.

Academic Disruption

COVID-19 was an event that disrupted the academic achievement of our nation’s youth. The resulting isolation and loss of family and caregivers have affected children’s emotional wellness. Another obstacle to children’s mental health has been the rise of the smartphone. Young people have access to these at a young age, which can negatively affect their mental health.

The risk of depression, anxiety, and stress is elevated when their devices become their social outlets, which has resulted in cyber-bullying and addictive behaviors. Congress must resolve to improve the system, whereby children receive the care they need to redirect harmful outcomes.

Depression

Rep. Lou Correa stated that there are too many young people in Orange County who are facing the effects of mental health challenges. That is true throughout our nation in every county, city, and state. Depression, which is the feeling of sadness and hopelessness, affects too many young people today. Young people don’t have the emotional capacity to overcome crises.

Typically, they internalize their circumstances, but this internalization manifests in negative behaviors. These include withdrawal, emotional detachment, and plummeting grades. This resolution will give much-deserved attention to this mental health matter affecting one of the most vulnerable groups in our society.

Suicide

Another horrible and tragic condition in our country is the increasing rate of suicide among our youth. This is a condition that must not be overlooked, as this resolution attempts to propose practices to de-escalate this epidemic. For ages 10 to 14, suicide has become the second leading cause of mortality. That should be unacceptable, and ways of intervention should be implemented without delay.

Children’s emotional wellness and overall well-being depend on it.

Final Thoughts

This resolution is long overdue, and hopefully, the impact of its being signed into legislation will have far-reaching effects. It has become cliché to say that children are our future, but it’s true. This bipartisan resolution affects the nation. Children’s emotional wellness is at stake. Preventing the struggle, despair, academic decline, depression, and suicide rates of our youth should be a national priority.