---
title: Helping Children Deal with Depression | Kaplan Early Learning Company
description: Learn how you can help depressed students deal with depression and succeed in school with this article from Kaplan Early Learning Company.
image: https://blog.kaplanco.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/helping-children-deal-with-depression_a-1.jpg
---

# Helping Children Deal with Depression

Staff WriterNovember 11, 2014[Instructional Strategies](https://blog.kaplanco.com/tag/instructional-strategies)3 minute read

![Read full post: Helping Children Deal with Depression](https://blog.kaplanco.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/helping-children-deal-with-depression_a-1.jpg)

![Helping Children Deal with Depression](https://blog.kaplanco.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/helping-children-deal-with-depression_a-1.jpg)

All children can be sad or moody at times, but depression impacts more children than people think–about 1 in every 33 children may have depression according to [KidsHealth](http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/understanding_depression.html). Depression can impact children mentally, physically, emotionally, and socially, which is why it's important for depression to be identified and addressed at school and at home.

If you think a child in your care is showing symptoms of depression (withdrawal, energy loss, crying, irritability, a change in grades or eating habits, etc.) and the symptoms last for more than two weeks, talk with the child's family to see if they've noticed the same symptoms at home. Remember, parents may not react well to being told that their child isn't acting like his or her usual self. Remain professional and give parents contact information for your school's guidance counselor and/or the contact information for local psychologists and counselors.

Once children have been diagnosed with depression, the challenge for both educators and parents is figuring out how to help the child at school and at home. Make sure you establish a communication plan with the child's family to ensure that you know how things are going at home and that the parents know how their child is doing in school. If a child needs to take medicine for anxiety or depression at school, make sure parents fill out the appropriate forms and that you follow your school's protocol for giving children medicine.

Whether a child does or doesn't receive the counseling/medication he or she needs, there are a variety of things you can do to help depressed students. In his [article](http://tcssexedpsychservs.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/5/9/12593116/depression-helping_students_in_the_classroom.pdf) for the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), Dr. Thomas J. Huberty states that "School personnel can have significant, positive impacts on improving the academic, social, and emotional development of children with depression without being professional therapists." He suggests that educators implement the following strategies for helping children deal with depression:

**Ask your school psychologist, guidance counselor, or social worker for assistance.**

Taking the time to connect with depressed students and finding ways to help them learn will ultimately impact their success and how they deal with depression. Be sure to browse our section of [social-emotional](https://blog.kaplanco.com/shop/social-emotional) materials for ideas on items you can include in your classroom to help depressed students.

## Article Sources

Huberty, Thomas J. "Depression: Helping Students in the Classroom." *National Association of School Psychologists*. NASP, 2004. Web. 3 Oct. 2014.

"Understanding Depression." *KidsHealth*. Nemours, n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2014.

![listing conversion panel image](https://blog.kaplanco.com/hs-fs/hubfs/KELC/Insights%20and%20Inspirations/listing%20conversion%20panel%20image.webp?width=1924&height=1430&name=listing%20conversion%20panel%20image.webp)

Resources at your fingertips

### Get Learning Center Updates

Subscribe to get email updates whenever new resources are available in our Learning Center.

[ Subscribe Now ](https://info.kaplanco.com/kaplan-learning-center-subscription-form)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Staff Writer",
    "url" : "https://blog.kaplanco.com/author/staff-writer"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2023-02-24T17:58:08.521Z",
  "datePublished" : "2014-11-11T05:00:00.000Z",
  "headline" : "Helping Children Deal with Depression | Kaplan Early Learning Company",
  "image" : [ "https://blog.kaplanco.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/helping-children-deal-with-depression_a-1.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://blog.kaplanco.com/ii/helping-children-deal-with-depression",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://blog.kaplanco.com/hubfs/KELC_Full_RGB_Screen.png"
    },
    "name" : "Kaplan Early Learning Company"
  }
}
```