Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta has urged the Central Government to take a proactive approach in integrating mental health awareness and support into early childhood care. By this, no child will be left behind at the start of the learning journey.
Raising the issue of mental health and early learning challenges among children in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377 on March 30, the MP cited data that showed one in seven adolescents face mental health issues, and around 8% of children suffer from diagnosable mental disorders. Around 85% of brain development takes place before the age of six, making early childhood the most critical stage for shaping cognitive and emotional development. For a child, this period laid the foundation for language, behaviour, and learning abilities. Timely support during these years can prevent long-term challenges and improve outcomes across the education system.
The country has over 16.5 crore children in the 0-6 age group, many of whom attend anganwadis and pre-primary institutions. There was very limited awareness and support for mental health and learning disorders such as ADHD and dyslexia at the pre-primary stage.
There was need to build capacity to enable early screening of developmental and learning challenges, and provide basic emotional support within classrooms and anganwadis. He expressed need of a clear referral pathways to specialised care for children, where it was required.
