One in four parents in Canada took time off work over their child’s anxiety issues in 2017.
In a survey of mums and dads in Ontario, 25 per cent admitted to missing at least one day to care for their anxious child in that year.
“We’ve been sounding the alarm for a number of years,” Kim Moran, CEO of Children’s Mental Health Ontario, told Today’s Parent.
“This is just one other way of showing to the government that this is really something that’s impacting families.”
Researchers also looked at the economic impact of these lost working days and found that they cost the province $421 million in lost productivity each year.
While this search applies to Canada, it’s known that mental health issues in children is on the rise in Ireland too.
Children as young as four are presenting at schools with signs of anxiety and depression, a study by Dublin City University last year found.
The vast majority of the 1,000 school principals who took part in the survey also indicated that they had come across emotional issues including suicidal ideation, eating disorders, and sexual identity issues.
While it’s not unusual for children to become anxious or sad from time-to-time, an anxiety disorder can seriously impact a child’s life.
According to the HSE, these are the signs to look out for:
- finding it hard to concentrate
- not sleeping, or waking in the night with bad dreams
- not eating properly
- quickly getting angry or irritable, and being out of control during outbursts
- always worrying or having negative thoughts
- feeling tense and fidgety, or using the toilet often
- always crying
- being clingy
- complaining of tummy aches and feeling unwell
Learn more on anxiety services here.
