I don't normally post real serious stuff. I work a serious job and try to leave it at work. I would love to be able to talk about all the unbelievable things I see at work, but due to HIPPA laws I can't. So, anyway...Today I got a post card in the mail from the mayor's office of children and youth/Tennessee Voices for Children. It is an advertisement to become involved with their program and to celebrate National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day on May 8th.
As I read it I became deeply disturbed and not quite sure what to think about it.
The closing paragraph stated the following:
"If you have a child in Tennessee, your child may be at risk. If you are a parent or a community leader, you should be concerned. One out of every 10 children (125,000 in Tennessee) has a serious emotional disturbance, and 1 out of every 5 has a mental health problem."
WHAT???
I have a really hard time swallowing these statistics. My question is what is behind these large numbers? I know that not that many children are born with mental health problems, and my goodness "Serious emotional disturbances!"
I tend to look at things from the lenses of what I experience at work and my opinion is going to blame parents/home situation/schools/day care and lastly perinatal drug use. (I throw the drug use one in there - because it is amazing how many people use drugs while they are pregnant. I do not believe that it is no big deal...Many of the babies I see do not come out with birth defects therefore their mothers don't believe the drugs have harmed their child. I believe the effects we see are behavioral. I feel that is why we see a huge number of children in elementary school with ADD, ADHD and I love the new fad that everyone is bi-polar)
I feel like for my children, we have the parents/home situation and drug use under control, but the school situation is heavy on my mind. With Julia headed to school in about a year I panic. We have no idea what to do with her and school. We do not want to send her to public school, we can't afford private/Christian school and I don't know if we would survive homeschooling. God is going to have to give me divine guidance with this one.
I shutter to think about the future of our world with this many mentally disturbed people running around as adults.
3 comments:
I urge you to at least check out your local public school. I'm a big supporter of the public school system. Here's a great post on it (and my long winded, blabbering comment on it.)
Good luck. It's an important decision. Hope you find the solution that fits for you.
The statistic you read is alarming. Do you think they are inclucing add and adhd in it? If so, then i can believe it.
I have the same dilemma about public schooling, even though i don't even have kids. I have no idea what i would DO!!! Thank you for including us on this journey.
The first or second law of thermodynamics states that everything in the universe is moving from a state of order to a state of disorder - unless there is specific applied energy. Such is our society. But you are one that is applying energy where we desperately need it these days.
and now i will step off my soapbox and back down to the carpet which i don't think i have vacuumed in two months.
P.S. LOVE the subject line!! LOL
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