Healthy Kids

Mental illness is an often overlooked area of children’s health. Despite the strides we have made in many areas of medicine, mental illness is still affected by stigma, poor screening techniques and a lack of resources. The result is that only one in five young people in Canada receives treatment for their mental health issue.

Serious disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder affect only a small percentage of Canadian youth. But a growing number of children are experiencing mental distress as our culture puts more and more demands on them. Anxiety, insecurity and low self-esteem can prevent kids from leading normal, productive and happy lives.

Experts predict that mental health issues among young people in Canada will increase by 50 percent by 2020. Yet, remarkably, Canada is the only G8 country that does not have a formally adopted national mental health strategy. The issue is complex, and the solutions will not be easy, but all levels of government need to develop a plan to tackle this growing problem in our communities.

Healthy Kids 2009: Mental Health

Mental health survey
Create a better future for children's mental health by completing our five-minute online survey

Help hope bloom
Plant an online flower and send a message to kids and parents touched by mental health issues

Mental health resources
Browse a list of resources that can help your kids grow up happy and mentally healthy

One parent’s journey
Desperate to find help for her troubled son, James, one mother found herself changing the health care system

Access to treatment delayed
You've got the diagnosis: Your child has a mental health problem. Treatment is coming, but not for months. What now? How to cope — and help your child — while you wait

Talking to a Kids Help Phone Counsellor
Kids reached out to Kids Help Phone more than 250,000 times last year, to talk about their parents, their friends, their fears. Meet one of the counsellors who's there for them

See more below

Our partners

	Safe Kids Canada is the national injury prevention program of The Hospital for Sick Children, working to translate research into best practices that will reduce the number of children hurt or killed by preventable injuries.
	Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada operates in more than 700 locations across the country, offering programs to about 200,000 children and youth each year to help boost their healthy physical, educational and social development.
	Kids Help Phone is Canada’s only free, 24-hour, bilingual and anonymous phone and online counseling service for children and youth. Professional counsellors provide support and hope to young people across the country.
	Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health & Environment is an alliance of organizations working to protect kids’ health from environmental contaminants. The partners believe all children have the right to a clean, safe, healthy environment.
	Arts for Children & Youth of Toronto provides unique, hands-on arts programming for children and youth from underserved communities in the Greater Toronto Area.
	The YMCA encourages children and youth to embrace healthy habits that can become a lifelong practice through education and fun activities. The YMCA in Canada currently serves 713,000 children and youth in more than 250 communities from coast to coast.
	The Canadian Women’s Foundation is Canada’s only national public foundation dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls. CWF researches, shares and funds the best approaches to ending violence against women, moving low-income women out of poverty, and building strong, resilient girls.
	The Girls’ Growth Fund IPO At the Canadian Women's Foundation, we want every girl in Canada to know that she matters. Through the Girls' Growth Fund IPO (Immediate Public Opportunity), we're raising funds to support programs for girls across Canada by selling 'shares' in the fund at $100 each. Your donation will help more than 3,000 girls to find the confidence, courage and potential in themselves, and to realize that they matter.
	Fire Prevention Canada's mission is to increase the awareness of fire prevention and safety through direct education of the public. The organization’s goal is to reduce the number of mostly preventable residential fires across this country, many of which are fatal.
	Spark Together for Healthy Kids: Today's Parent is a proud supporter of the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Spark Together for Healthy Kids
	At My Best is a school-based children's wellness program, which was developed by AstraZeneca Canada and Physical and Health Education Canada. The program was created for students in kindergarten to grade three and aims to motivate children and their families develop lifelong healthy habits. At My Best focuses on three key areas of wellness: physical, nutritional and emotional health.
	Reaching for the Top: A Report by the Advisor on Healthy Children & Youth

Your child’s mental health

Kids and Anxiety
How to anxiety-proof your child — or at least shrink the worry

Preschoolers on Prozac
Young children are now taking powerful psychiatric drugs, and no one knows what the long-term effect will be. Trouble is, what do we do in the short term?

Healthy thinking
Expert advice on boosting optimism, building resilience and developing leadership skills

Kids and Anxiety
How to anxiety-proof your child — or at least shrink the worry

Does your baby need therapy?
Sarah Elton tried everything to get her infant to sleep. Then someone suggested psychotherapy

It’s all in the Game
A therapist uses play to help troubled kids