I don’t ever see people talk about this. I’m sure at least one other person has had the idea but we should take kids to therapy starting I’m in kindergarten or whichever grade they start school. It should be required whether the kid “needs” therapy or not.
A lot of you are probably wondering what my line of reasoning is. I mean, if a kid doesn’t have a mental illness or trauma or grief or behavioral issues or whatever, right?
1. Your kid might actually have a mental illness or trauma that you don’t know about. You don’t spend every moment with them. The number of kids who are sexually abused whose parents don’t know is too high for you to say that “you would know”. The truth is, chances are you wouldn’t know. Plus, lots of kids have ADHD, anxiety, depression, or all sorts of other things. Therapy can diagnose these early on and help give your kids tools to help them combat this stuff. (Yes, there are some mental illnesses that you don’t know about until puberty. Good thing that my system goes all the way until you graduate)
2. Just because your child does not have behavioral issues does not mean they shouldn’t have the tools to understand and deal with their emotions. Particularly once puberty starts and hormones are shifting. This is something I have personal experience seeing the difference of. My sister was a very hotheaded child so my mom worked with her and gave her the tools to help her understand, accept, and move on from her feelings and calm down. She deals with her hormones much better than I did.
3. A safe, confidential place for your child to talk about things is very important. Sometimes, your child isn’t going to want to talk to you, and sometimes, that isn’t your fault. Having an open space for them to talk through the way that they’re feeling and what they’re going through is good and can help them be more open with you, even if they aren’t right now. A therapist can be that outlet and can also push your child to talk to you
4. It’ll help destigmatize therapy. If your child needs a therapist later on in life, they’ll know that it’s okay to get them. Plus, the chance that they need therapy will be lower because they’ll already have a lot of the tools they need.
5. It’ll raise awareness about mental illness and people will start accepting and accommodating mental illness instead of saying that someone is faking something. Kids will know and not just suffer. Adults will know and not just suffer. Mental illness will be less shunned and stigmatized and our society might become accepting.
You guys might argue that low income families won’t be able to afford therapy. That’s why a team of therapists should be mandated at each school. Regular appointments after school can become just as normal as extracurriculars. Plus, most insurance companies also cover therapy because your mental health is just as important as your physical health.
This is just the thoughts someone who has mental health issues and whose family has a history of mental health issues and has seen the difference therapy can make in someone’s life.
Give your kids the tools they need to succeed in life and put them in therapy from a young age.
vaporwave
kianamaiart
areudirty
