Hi, I work at a mental health service and often get calls from worried parents about their children's behaviours which is often in response to what is happening at time of the behaviours. I suppose it is difficult to say what is classified as a mental health issue.
Let change to another angle. What ISN'T a mental health issue? This might be easier to answer than the question stated above. In order to illustrate what is not a mental health issue, I am going to use simple scenarios. For illustration purposes, I am going to say that the child's name is "Tommy".
Scenario One: Little Tommy is ten years old. He loves his sister very much. However, he gets into a verbal argument with his 8-year-old sister because they are in disagreement about something. There are no other behaviours of concern.
Scenario Two: Little Tommy is also ten years old. He is often socially withdrawn from other children in school. When he is at home, he does not engage with his family. Presently, he often cries for no reason. He has difficulty sleeping. He is eating less than usual and his mother noted that he is thinner than before. His concentration is poor and his grades are slipping.
Based on the above scenarios, it is obviously that the second little Tommy may need some additional input because we see a pervasive change in his overall presentation - socially withdrawn; changes in sleeping and eating patterns; weight change; poorer concentration; and school performance deteriorating. In general, we also see an overall deterioration in social, school and family functioning. In addition, this is not typical 10-year-old behaviour. Thus, professional input may be useful.
On the other hand, the first little Tommy getting into a verbal argument with his sister because of disagreement is more situation-specific than symptomatic of mental health concern. In keeping with this, there is no evidence suggesting atypical 10-year-old behaviour and no major changes in his daily functioning.
In conclusion, it is difficult to say with certainty what qualifies as a mental health issue without knowing specific information about the individual's level of functioning and information from other reliable collateral sources.
