Why we need integrally safe environments for children’s mental health

By Shimbo Pastory and Blandina Johnson

Having grown up in Tanzania and from the humble experiences shared by the majority of the population, we can look back and identify one or two things that can truly help foster mental health in the integral living and learning experiences of children.

To have good mental health, one does not need to come from a wealthy background. In fact data defeat that allusive assumption. For the most part the occurrence of mental health issues is same globally and also across all income groups. However, the diagnosis and proper care is a step closer for children who come from middle and higher income households in comparison with those from low income households.

This article will focus on how we can build an integrally safe environment to prevent children from developing mental health issues, such as depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma related disorders, attachment disorders, behavioural and conduct disorders, attention and self-regulation disorders, developmental and cognitive delays, substance use disorders, addictions, and many others.

From this general list alone it is clear that children are always at risk of being affected by the encounters with adults and the environment our systems create for them. One can also think of the magnitude of undetected mental health issues that could actually be addressed if detected early enough, yet due to lack of access to such services, young people develop problems that they carry with them to their adulthood even without being aware that they had damaging experiences.

Healing the home space is of great help in controlling and avoiding these problems. Think of a home where children feel safe, loved, and cared for. Love does not need material sufficiency to prove itself. Many can testify to experiencing deep, true, and enduring love in their homes despite struggles with material lack and even utter insufficiency.

It is also important to heal the conversation at home, such that, children can speak and be heard. The so-called “African parenting” glorifies hard-handedness and authoritarianism at home, such that children only follow instructions and speaking up can lead to being punished with some form of pain. But the question remains: does this work for good? Is it wrong for children to know their father as a loving parent? Is it bad for children to see parents speak to each other with kindness, rather than communicate in an emotionless way as if there is nothing affective between them?

When there is space for conversation at home, children can open up when they encounter difficulties, express their hurt, and reason through productive and meaningful verbal logic with the adults around them.

The opposite of this is children locking themselves up in their own judgements, a position which in a way hinders their understanding beyond their localised perspective of their experiences. When this happens, many children rationalise within the thick walls of fear, leading to making wrong decisions and living with pressures that can eventually alter both their disposition and their character.

In addition, a child can understand and appreciate more what safety is and means by learning what the lack of it entails. Thus, children first need to be guided to always remember that; they are still children and do not yet have a full grasp of realities around them, and secondly, that there are consequences to their actions, or culpability, hence the need to be responsible, to react, and to engage appropriately with the reality around them.

On the part of adults, there is a need to hold each other accountable, short of familiarity, filial bonds and the likes, insofar as the safety and integral wellbeing of children are concerned.

Globally, cases of abuse of all kinds against children mostly involve family members or adults in their closest inner circles. This entails rebuking, correcting, and even reporting adults who pose a danger to these children, because traumatic events have a long-term impact on children, affecting their development into adulthood.

Growing up and attending public primary schools, we have no recollection of any consultation from the public system that explored our mental health wellbeing. We need to recognise that mental health care for children is important and enforce measures to reach even children who cannot afford private or premium mental health care.  Education that is inconsiderate of the very health of the mental faculties of children is a slope down to failure in the long run as it can be highly ineffective given the diversity of care needed for the diversity of mental health problems among children today.

In conclusion, while technology is an indispensable part of the lives of children growing up today and most likely in the future, knowledge on how to care for children and prevent mental health problems associated with the use of technology needs to reach the deepest corners of our nation to safeguard the future of our young people.

Shimbo Pastory is a social development advocate and a student of the Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University. Blandina Johnson is a student of psychology at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.