My kids are almost done with Kids Movies, but last week we went to see Wonder Park. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much from this Nickelodeon movie. I thought it’d be along the lines of Sponge Bob, maybe a little funny, but mostly a waste of time, money, and most importantly, brain cells.
I. Was. Wrong.
While this movie has some plot holes that left me with questions that will never be answered, it has an excellent message about depression, specifically for kids.
According to the Center for Disease Control, 3.2% of children in America 3-17 years old, have been diagnosed with depression. That’s about 1.9 million kids, diagnosed. That doesn’t even take into account all the ones who haven’t been diagnosed!
That’s a lot of kids with depression alone. Also according to the CDC, anxiety affects 7.1% of kids in the same age group, or 4.4 million who have been diagnosed. Again, that’s those who have been diagnosed, there’s bound to be many more undiagnosed kids suffering out there.
Movies like Wonder Park and Inside Out from Disney a few years ago, are a great way to increase awareness of childhood mental health disorders, but so is just talking about it.
Parents, grandparents, aunts , uncles, parent’s best friends, etc. can educate themselves, know the signs (also be aware that there’s not always signs), talk to kids. Know what’s going on, listen to them. Let them know they can tell you anything without judgement from you. Let them know that you are a safe place for them.
In Wonder Park, they don’t call it depression, they refer to it as “the darkness.” There’s one part I disagree with. The main character says she has to fight it alone. She doesn’t have to fight it alone. She has her friends there to help her.
Nobody needs to fight depression, or any other mental illness alone. We have family and friends who will be by our side. Maybe not all of them, but when “the darkness” comes, we find who will come along side us and help us through it.
If you or a loved one is struggling with depression, anxiety or thoughts of harming yourself please ask for help.
This is the National Suicide Hotline
1-800-273-8255 suicidepreventionlifeline.org
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