CBC News put a story on their website today about a recent study of Quebec preschoolers and their mothers, which appeared in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Guess what?

15% of the preschoolers had abnormally high levels of depression and anxiety.  The biggest indicators are history of depression in the mother and a “difficult temperment” in the infant at 5 months of age.

So that’s Canada and anybody who knows us knows we love all things Canadian, so we’re not going to make any snide remarks about the weather up there, or the Canadiens not having one a Stanley Cup in 16 years, being a contributing factor.

Any studies like this going on in the good ‘ol USA?

Apparently so.  Jezebel.com reports about a study that followed 306 depressed preschoolers.  Two years later, 40% of those kids were still suffering from depression.  I guess the psychologists who said that children under 6 didn’t have the emotional maturity to be depressed were wrong.

What the experts are struggling with is how to treat preschooler depression and anxiety.  They’re not sure if cognitive behavioral therapy will work like it works for teens.  They’re also worried about using anti-depressants on preschoolers. (Wouldn’t you be?)  But, something does have to be done.  Depression and anxiety can’t be left unchecked throughout childhood for obvious reasons.

Moral of the story here is if there’s a history of depression in mom or mom’s side of the family, pay special attention to your child’s behavior very early on.  Follow this link for some great books about depression in children that will help you build a strategy to raise a healthy and well-adjusted child.