Children, teenagers and parents – mental health at home and school
Child and teen mental health, ADHD, exam pressure, pregnancy and new parents – signs to watch and how families can help.
Chapters on this topic
Chapter 12: Child, Teen and Adult Mental Health
The same mind in different seasons : Age changes the language of distress. Ageing is not a diagnosis.
- 12.1 Mental health across the lifespan
- 12.2 Child mental health (roughly up to age 12)
- 12.3 Adolescent mental health (roughly ages 13–19)
- 12.4 Adult mental health (roughly ages 20–59)
- 12.5 Older adult mental health (roughly age 60 and above)
- 12.6 Gender and mental health
- 12.7 Culture, faith and mental health across ages
- 12.8 When to seek help at any age
- 12.9 Infancy: before birth to two years
- 12.10 Early childhood (2 to 6 years)
- 12.11 Life transitions and resilience
- 12.12 A simple story
Chapter 27: ADHD and Neurodiversity
Not naughtiness; a different nervous system
- 27.1 ADHD
- 27.2 Autism spectrum
- 27.3 Learning disorders
- 27.4 What sits beside them in childhood
- 27.5 Adults
- 27.6 Neurodiversity as a word
- 27.7 Hidden autism: women, girls, and adults
- 27.8 How to communicate well with an autistic person
- 27.9 Tic disorders and Tourette syndrome
- 27.10 Supporting neurodivergent children at home and school
- 27.11 Neurodiversity at work
- 27.12 A short story
- Key points to remember
Chapter 30: Perinatal Mental Health
Pregnancy, birth, and the mood that can follow
- 30.1 What we already know
- 30.2 Baby blues and depression — keep the difference
- 30.3 Medicines
- 30.4 Who else is in the room
- 30.5 A short story
- Key points to remember
Stories from real life (18)
- The Boy Who Could Not Sit Still – Aryan, nine, studies in a busy school in Ahmedabad. He cannot stay in his seat, forgets his homework, blurts out answers and loses his…
- Sofia and the Glow of the Screen – Sofia, fifteen, lives in Johannesburg. She was a cheerful girl, but since moving to a new school she spends hours online comparing herself to…
- Neha Stops Saying Yes – Neha, thirty-eight, is a project manager in Bengaluru and mother of two. Her day starts at five and ends at midnight: office calls, school…
- Mr Iyer Forgets the Way Home – Mr Iyer, seventy-eight, a retired teacher in Chennai, took the same walk to the temple every morning for forty years. Last month he lost…
- Little Zara Learns to Wait – Zara is three and lives in Nairobi with her mother Wanjiru, who returned to work a month ago. Zara used to be sunny, but…
- Ramesh, Age 68 – For decades, Ramesh’s life was built on two unshakeable pillars: his busy career and his devoted wife. But within a span of just two…
- The Boy Who Could Not Stay in the Chair – Vihaan, eight, from Lucknow, was always on the move. He lost his pencil box weekly, blurted answers, and tapped his feet through lessons. His…
- Always Late, Always Sorry – Priya, thirty-four, a graphic designer in Bengaluru, was brilliant in meetings and a mess in her inbox. She missed deadlines, lost keys, and began…
- The Girl Who Copied Everyone – Meera, fourteen, from Hyderabad, was polite, top of the class and rarely any trouble. At school she copied how other girls laughed and talked.…
- Bright Boy, Cannot Read – Oliver, nine, lives in Bristol with his parents. He is quick in conversation, tells long jokes and is excellent with Lego. But in class…
- The Blink and the Sniff – Daniel, eleven, in Dublin, began blinking hard and clearing his throat. Soon he was shrugging his shoulder and sniffing, and sometimes a small sound…
- Arun’S Two Reports – Arun’s class teacher wrote “careless.” His football coach wrote “sees the whole field.” The paediatrician sat with both pages and a parent who was…
- The Tablet She Wanted to Throw Away – Anjali was twenty-nine and thirty weeks pregnant when she told her husband, Rohit, that she had put her antidepressant tablets in the bin. She…
- Not Just Tired Tears – Zainab brought her daughter home from the hospital in Lahore on a Tuesday. By the fourth day she was crying over nothing: a cold…
- The Birth That Went Well on Paper – Priya's daughter was born by emergency caesarean after a night of frightening alarms. The baby was healthy, the doctors smiled, and relatives sent cheerful…
- A Quiet Room After the Scan – Sunita was ten weeks pregnant when a routine scan in Pune showed no heartbeat. The doctor spoke kindly, but the words blurred. By evening…
- The Night Rosa Stopped Making Sense – Rosa, thirty-one, had delivered her first baby in Lisbon five days earlier. On the first two nights she barely slept, which her husband, Miguel,…
- After The Discharge – The ward called the birth normal. At home the nights were not. She could not feel the baby as hers. Her mother said tiredness.…
More topics
- What is mental health? A simple guide to the mind and who can help
- The brain, hormones and body chemistry behind your moods
- Emotions, anger and mood swings – understanding your feelings
- Stress – causes, symptoms and how to reduce stress at work and in exams
- Anxiety, panic attacks and fear – signs, causes and what helps
- Depression and low mood – signs, causes and the way back
- Trauma, grief and loss – healing at your own pace
- Sleep problems, food and daily routine for a healthy mind
- Counselling, therapy and psychiatric medicines explained
- Helping a loved one with mental illness – family and relationships
- Mental health crisis and suicide prevention – what to do
- The five senses, the five elements and the mind
- Bhagavad Gita, yoga and Indian wisdom for mental peace
- Addiction to alcohol, tobacco, drugs and gambling – signs and recovery
- Phone addiction, social media and screen time – digital well-being
- Ageing well, memory loss and dementia – caring for elders