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What does mental health look like for a small child?

4 mins read The Early Years Blog
As a former psychiatric nurse who trained and worked at the Maudsley Hospital, I realised quickly that mental health was the Cinderella service of the NHS. Years later, I joined the Cinderella service of the education service, otherwise known as the early years.
June O’Sullivan is chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation. Picture: LEYF
June O’Sullivan is chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation. Picture: LEYF

I must be a bit of a Cinderella fan – more inclined to rags than riches or maybe I have long recognised the richness and sheer joy of working with children and being able to advocate for them. 

Today, the term ‘mental health’ has entered the world of Early Years. It’s a term bandied about everywhere which is not hugely helpful because I am not sure everyone knows what they mean by it and so it has become a bit of a cliché and we know how quickly clichés become meaningless. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as ‘a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community’. The opposite of this is mental health problems which can have adverse and long-lasting negative effects. 

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