Children's Mental Health: A Call to Action

The numbers speak for themselves. one in five. That's the number of kids in Ontario who struggle with their mental health. The worst part? Less than 20 percent of them will get the help they need, says Gordon Floyd, President and CEO of Children's Mental Health Ontario.

It's crazy that stigma still exists when so many young people (and let's face it, 'old' people) suffer from delibilitating illness, be it eating disorders, depression, schizophrenia... Shame prevents our kids from opening up about what they're going through, the usual fears of being judged, of being different are especially potent during adolescence. 

As a parent, what can we do to help our kids open up and admit they need assistance? Well, for starters, we need to be open about it ourselves. And we need to be informed, so we don't perpetuate myths and stigma surrounding mental illness. 

Founder of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, Bill Wilkerson has this advice for parents:

• "Rid yourself of the false perceptions and stereotypes of mental illness that may blind you to the needs of your own kids. Establish the mental health of your children as a necessary part of parenting and protection.

• Approach the subject of mental health openly with your child. Explain why it is important. Have your child understand that his or her brain works with every part of them, and that it changes through life."

Wilkerson also stresses the importance of peer support. Since kids are communicating so much more through social media, and sometimes there is safety in anonymity, our kids need to know how to reach out when they need help, but also how to recognize -- and to help -- to those who need it as this girl did.

Change The View 2012, an anti-stigma YouTube video contest for youth across Ontario, has been hosted by Children’s Mental Health Ontario.