Managing childhood depression

By Omolara Otuyemi

SIR: Mental sickness has become more prevalent in our society. Not that it has always been absent but now, circumstances have triggered the distortion in the human mental space. Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.

The most common form of mental illness is depression. In Nigeria today, many young adults have resorted to taking their lives due to this morbid sickness. Depression has become rampant in the Nigerian society, probably owing to the fact that the standard of living keeps skyrocketing, leaving a lot of people without hopes of making ends meet. Those with steady income have become unemployed due to socio-economic downturns.     Unnoticed are the increases in the number of children who have become riddled with the hounding sickness, owing to issues bothering on parenting and bullying by their peers.

It becomes very hard to notice a child going through depression due to the ever-changing phases, which come with them transitioning from an age facet into another which truly comes with different attitudinal change in composure, emotions and reasoning pattern. Hence, it becomes somewhat difficult to notice a child going through troubles.

Many factors contribute to childhood depression, which is derived from inability to address issues that bruises the self-esteem of the victim, either by peers, older relatives, teachers or parents. The predominant cause of childhood depression is bullying, mostly from school.

Studies have shown that children that are bullied are most likely to have suicidal thoughts than those who are not.  Many a times, children are being emotionally abused by their peers in school and an unaddressed abuse sometimes leads to depression, which may plunge into suicide.

The school bodies are pivotal in the fight against bullying by blocking the loopholes and becoming more pronounced and consistent about the rules when it comes to matters on bullying.  Perhaps it is time for the Lagos State Government to disrupt the upheaval before it becomes a craze snowball.

Another factor that is likely to plunge a child into childhood depression is parenting. In time past, different parents have their preference when it comes to upbringing. In some homes, the female child is responsible for everything domestic, while the male child gives the rules irrespective of the age.

Some parents believe that it is the sole duty of the last child to take on all errands in the house, while others thrust the burden of the house on the first child irrespective of the gender.  More often than not, a child being exposed to either form of upbringing, feels the weight and most times interprets this form of upbringing to the emotional feeling of being unloved.

An even bewildering factor is the parents’ inattentiveness or attribution of these perturbed upbringing processes as a form of training, without recognizing the fact that the age at which the child is being subjected to accepting responsibilities is grossly unripe.

The question now is: At what point do parents need to know when training or upbringing is becoming too overbearing? Generally, Africans’ regard militia form of upbringing as training. This is deep-rooted in our culture. However, advocacy goes a long way in re-orientation. When a child becomes a bit rebellious, that is a red flag for parents to know that something is amiss.

In order to effectively manage depression among children, stakeholders need to take a cue from the Lagos State Government, which in 2020, started a laudable initiative via the creation of a Mental Health Wellness Centre for public servants in the state. This is to manage complications arising from mental health.

A similar facility could also be provided for the children with acute signs of depression. Similarly, mental wellness can be inculcated in schools to quickly identify and treat a child going through such a dreadful phase.

• Omolara Otuyemi,

Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.