(Canada) CBC: Children's meltdowns in school are a sign of stress

Nov 21, 2017, (Canada) CBC: Campaign tackles effects of stress on kids as young as 6 Mental health visits to CHEO up 75 per cent since 2010 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-public-health-campaign-mental-health-preschool-childrren-1.4411011 Ottawa Public Health has launched a new campaign to raise awareness about how stress could leave young children more susceptible to depression, suicide and drug and alcohol abuse in their adolescent years. Harpreet Grewal, a program officer with Ottawa Public Health, said early signs of mental stress in young children can take the form of anxiety and manifest itself in meltdowns for children. "We are trying to promote that children that age have mental health and children need to feel safe and secure," said Grewal, who encourages parents to develop resiliency in their children, by nurturing a sense of security and to seek help early if they see warning signs. Grewal said the idea for the campaign came nearly two years ago after public health officials noticed some troubling mental health trends including: A 75 per cent increase in mental health visits to CHEO since 2010. 45 per cent of clients who use a local mental health walk-in clinic are under the age of six. One in four children in Ottawa are developmentally delayed before they start school. ... Rising number of young children seeking help Blake is one of nearly 1,100 children, some as young as two years old, who have been treated for mental health issues at the Crossroads Children's Centre over the past year, according to its executive director Michael Hone....