Signs to watch out for: City mental health experts warn of pandemic's impact on kids

Doctors say the pandemic has brought on new challenges for young people in this country. They say now is the time to be proactive in your child's well-being.

News 12 Staff

Dec 17, 2021, 11:01 PM

Updated 1,020 days ago

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Mental health experts in the city say the pandemic has brought about anxiety and uncertainty to daily living and impacted children in negative ways.
Dr. Cathryn Galanter, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at NYC Health+Hospitals/Kings County, says it's important to talk to kids about mental health.
"More kids are anxious, more kids are depressed, more kids are having behavioral problems," says Galanter.
Doctors say the pandemic has brought on new challenges for young people in this country. They say now is the time to be proactive in your child's well-being.
"Some populations that have been particularly affected are children in families where there have been losses, children of front-line workers. The other group we've seen affected by the pandemic is the LGBTQ population," says Galanter.
Galanter says there are ways parents and guardians can check on their child. She says the biggest red flag is an attitude change. She says parents should watch for whether their child is more sad, irritable, cranky, isolated or not doing well in school.
While it may take a few tries to get your child to communicate, Galanter says it's important to be persistent.
Experts say listening without judgement is important. They say be an ally to your child and know when to seek professional help.
"Over the last few decades, we've had a huge recognition that mental health conditions are a huge part of health in general but there are still lots of barriers in getting help and one of them is not knowing that what you're dealing with is a mental health condition," says Galanter.