As school begins in Utah, add these resources to your mental health toolkit
Summer break is coming to an end for school-aged kids. This means getting to sleep earlier and shopping for school clothes and supplies. But there’s another item on your checklist you shouldn’t ignore: a mental health toolkit.
Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital is encouraging families to talk to their children about their feelings regarding returning back to school and comes up with some tools and skills that will be helpful if they’re anxious about going back to the classroom.
“It’s normal for children to feel anxious about back-to-school changes, and it’s important for families to talk with their children about their feelings, what to expect, and set routines to help them transition to the school year,” said Amanda Choudhary, senior director of pediatric behavioral health at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital.
Choudhary said it’s also important for parents to recognize the signs of when their child may need help and to be familiar with the resources available to them.
“The number of kids needing mental health support typically starts to rise as students head back to school, and we don’t need to wait until a crisis strikes,” she said. “Help is available and help is on the way.”
According to Primary Children’s Hospital, 1 in 5 children ages 3 to 17 suffer from mental, emotional, behavioral or developmental issues. Last year, 43% of Utah youth said they felt hopeless, sad or suicidal and didn’t talk with anyone about it. In addition, suicide remains a leading cause of death for Utah youth.
The National Institutes of Mental Health states 50% of all lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 14. The main causes of mental health issues in youth stem from social isolation or loneliness, childhood abuse, trauma, neglect, poverty, grief, severe long-term stress, having long-term physical health conditions and suffering from discrimination. Viruses and bacteria can also affect mental health.
That’s why it’s so important to set your kids up for success with mental health. Here is a list of tools for parents and children as they get ready to return to school.
Preparation: Set your child up for mental health success
- Create sleep schedules, mealtimes, active and focus times, and limits on mobile devices and social media.
- Talk to your child about what is exciting about the school year, whether it’s new shoes or a new teacher, or plan to hide a fun note in their backpack each day.
- Help your child anticipate what to expect, such as walking to the bus stop, visiting the school in advance, and when and where you’ll see them after school.
- Talk about the day, acknowledging and validating their feelings and discussing what helps them feel calm in challenging moments.
Be aware: Know these signs of distress
- Changes in behavior or mood, such as isolation or withdrawal from friends or activities, as well as eating habits.
- Inability to cope or recover: If your child comes home tearful one day, it’s a good sign that they can talk to you or show you how they cope and recover from something that was hard. But if your child struggles for a long time or is inconsolable and unable to recover from a difficult day, that’s more concerning.
- Consistently struggling: Rough days can happen. But if rough days happen every morning or several times a week, or your child is avoiding school, reach out for support.
Available resources: Know where to get help
- Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital “Talk to Tweens” Resources: These resources, from the experts at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, can help parents and teachers start conversations with children and help them identify, express and manage their feelings in a healthy way. The free “Talk to Tweens” tools, which can be downloaded in both English and Spanish at talktotweens.org and hableconsusjovenes.org, include conversation starters, a downloadable Feelings Wheel and additional tips for families.
- Free Assessment, Referral, Consultation Service (ARCS): 801-313-7711. This statewide service can help families learn about and connect to services that are available for children close to their communities.
- Free in-home stabilization and mobile response: 1-833-SAFE-FAM. This service dispatches a team to homes in moments of need to help stabilize children in crisis.
- National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988. This resource offers free support if you or someone you love, adult or child, is in crisis.
- SafeUT app: This is a free app that offers a crisis chat line for real-time crisis intervention for students, parents or guardians and educators through live chat and a confidential tip line.
- Pediatric crisis assessments available 24/7: This resource is available through the emergency departments at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital campuses in Salt Lake City and Lehi.
- Partial-hospitalization programs at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital: These programs are available at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital locations, including the Miller Family Campus in Lehi, the Salt Lake Campus, the Wasatch Canyons Campus in Taylorsville and soon at Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital.
- Call 911 or take your child to the nearest hospital emergency department: Use this resource in the event of self-harm or a suicide attempt.
Intermountain Children’s Health is expanding services for critical situations for kids in crisis. In addition, a new Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital Behavioral Health Center will open in Taylorsville in 2025. The 90,000-square-foot facility will include nearly 50% more inpatient beds, a walk-in crisis center and the state’s first dedicated behavioral health inpatient unit to provide tailored therapy for those with neurodiverse and autism needs. It will also offer outpatient services for intensive treatment, day treatment, group therapy and family-centered behavioral health care, including the option for parents to stay overnight.