Emotional & Mental Wellbeing
Anxiety is one of the most common problems experienced by children and young people. Lots of children also feel sad or upset some of the time but depression is different to feeling sad or miserable - it’s an illness and its symptoms last for a long time.
Children and teenagers' emotional wellbeing is better when whānau can get the right support. Kiwi families have access to parenting support to improve emotional wellbeing for our tamariki.
Find out where to get help if your child or young person is having a mental health emergency.
Various digital tools, apps and programmes can help tamariki and rangatahi struggling with their mental wellbeing. These interactive programmes teach them skills to help them if they are feeling down, depressed, anxious or stressed.
Signs of bullying might include tummy aches, nightmares, your child not wanting to go to school and loss of confidence. Your child may lose contact with friends and seem isolated. Find out what you can do.
Anxiety is a common and natural feeling that everybody experiences. If anxiety is significantly impacting your child's everyday life, then it is important to get help for them.
There are many reasons why people self harm. The most important thing to do is to listen. It is very important to encourage talking as that is a much better way to help the intensity of emotions than to self harm.
Depression is a serious illness that can make it hard to do everyday activities. It is important to get help if you are concerned about your child's depression. Depression can be treated effectively.
Eating disorders are uncommon but serious mental health conditions that also affect physical health. Eating disorders can happen to anybody - regardless of their age, sex or size. Check out the signs and symptoms if you're concerned your child or young person may have an eating disorder. Learn how to get them the help they need.
If you think your child or young person has an eating disorder, visit your family doctor straight away. Ask for a referral to an eating disorder specialist service. Find out more about services for young people with eating disorders, and support for parents and whānau.
ARFID is an eating disorder and a serious mental health condition. It causes tamariki to avoid or significantly restrict their intake of food. This can affect their growth and development and cause them to become unwell. If you are worried your child may have ARFID, visit your family doctor straight away.
Children think deeply about things, but might not always have the words or skills to describe how they are feeling following a traumatic event (including natural disasters like flooding and earthquakes). Find out how you can help them and discover some resources about how to talk to kids about trauma. Updated with resources to support tamariki through flooding and cyclones.
Following a traumatic event like a natural disaster, it is normal for children, teenagers and adults to have strong feelings, reactions, and changes in behaviour. Children learn from their parents’ responses, as well as what they see and hear in the media.
All children explore different ways of expressing their gender. For some children, gender can be fluid. Be open to wherever your child's gender journey leads. Find out how to support your gender diverse younger child or teen, and where to get your own support. Check the resources for takatāpui and whānau, and Pasifika young people.
Gender dysphoria can be the experience of distress or discomfort with your body's sex characteristics or the gender role assigned to you. Check out some ideas that could help.
Resources to help children make sense of the COVID-19 pandemic. From booklets, videos for kids to resources explaining the science behind COVID. Some of these resources are about things that have now finished - like returning to school after lockdowns. All the resources continue to be available on this page.
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