This year, Children’s Mental Health Week 2024 runs between 5th-11th February. The campaign aims to highlight to children across the world that whoever they are, and wherever they are, they can confidently believe that their voice and problems matter. The campaign hopes to empower children and young people by offering them with the tools they need to express themselves. The campaign led by Place2Be hopes to provide children and young people with a greater sense of community and self- esteem.
Data collected by Place2Be, highlights that 1 in 5 children and young people have a probable mental health condition. Such conditions, often continue into problems in adulthood. Outside of this 1 in 5 figure, there are many children and young people who also struggle with lower-level issues with their wellbeing and mental health, but this is not yet consistently measured across the country. Ultimately, children and young people need to be supported from a young age in order to minimise the severity of mental health problems in the future.
Deaf children are 30% to 50% more likely experience mental health challenges in comparison to their hearing counterparts. Ultimately, there is a prevalence of mental health problems in Deaf children. Through raising awareness and providing the correct tools, we hope that the number can be reduced. If children and young people recognise that their voice matters, we hope that they will be able to speak about their feelings and communicate effectively. Mental health problems in children are often overlooked despite the demands of our modern society often taking a toll. The campaign stresses the importance of early intervention and universal mental health support to children and young people.
Children and young people, deaf and hearing, should be able to acknowledge that they are not alone. To highlight this, Signature recently got in contact with international deaf footballer, Will Palmer. Will shares with us more about his mental health and the importance of communicating with friends and family:
- Growing up as a deaf child and young person, did you face any mental health problems or feelings of loneliness?
Growing up as a deaf child through mainstream school has been a difficult experience but I am very lucky to have a great bunch of lads who I have gone through primary, secondary and university with (we lived together!). They have been very supportive towards my struggles, football and growing up deaf, which I am very grateful for. I think because of my friends and family, I have never really struggled too much with mental health issues. However, I have faced a lot of struggles growing up trying to get involved socially and academically. In turn, I have experienced feelings of loneliness. There were times when I didn’t have the access and support through my education, and this is something that I struggled with. I find that, if you keep yourself distracted with the right people and doing the things you enjoy, then there shouldn’t be any issues.
- How important do you think it is to communicate feelings of anxiety and loneliness?
Especially in times like now, it is more important than ever to speak about these unpleasant experiences instead of bottling it up. I have always been open with my problems and that has been helpful. In my situation, I will always drop someone a text or facetime my best friend and get it out of myself, and I find this pays off! After that, you will start to realise your friends are there for you and you can trust them to get your thoughts out of your head and out of your mouth.
- How can a secure support system help with mental health problems or general feelings of worry?
In the hearing world, there are support groups and counselling provided for them with ease. Unfortunately, those who are deaf and only use BSL will struggle to get the support they need. All over the country, there are charities who host deaf drop-ins, coffee mornings and weekend events. However, these events need to be promoted as much as they can, otherwise deaf people will not get the support they need. Not only can they communicate in BSL, but they can feel the comfort of speaking to each other. These type of events will also enable individuals to realise that they are not going through this alone. I would divide the groups into similar ages, so individuals can discuss similar problems their age group is most likely to go through.
- Why have campaigns like Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week so important?
Mental health often comes from the past or present when a child goes through something traumatic. They go through unpleasant, unforgettable experiences consistently and they don’t realise it, yet they wonder why they suffer from mental health issues. It is important to dig into the root of the issue instead of looking around it. By doing this, you will start to realise why you feel a certain way and you will start looking for ways to better yourself and your mental health.
The campaign by Place2Be is incredibly important as it allows people to realise that it isn’t just adult and teenagers that go through the same issues, it is children too. Helping people realise mental health in children is a serious matter is very important as it encourages people with children to act as soon as possible. A massive credit to Place2Be for setting up this campaign because it’s more important than ever to raise awareness on this, after years of brushing it off and continuing like everything is fine.
- Finally, what advice would you give to deaf children and young people who are currently facing feelings associated with a mental health problem?
Firstly, speaking out is the most important part and speaking to your parents or any relatives you are close with is important and a good start. They have seen how you grow through all the years, and they would support you in anyways regardless. Once you have been speaking about your feelings, you and the family can decide what is the best thing to do afterwards. Speaking about your feelings consistently might help, counselling also might help. Additionally, it is important to stay distracted with plenty of things that you enjoy. Perhaps just speaking about your feelings to those who surround you with love and support is enough!
First, we would like to thank Will for taking time out of his football to share more about the importance of mental health awareness in both deaf and hearing children.
Second, we would like to thank Place2Be for running such an important campaign. We hope that their work empowers, equips and gives a voice to all children and young people in the UK.
To find out more about their campaign, follow this link: https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk
