In most cases, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) does not affect people until their young adult years. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the average age of onset is 23. Some studies have indicated that somewhere between 1 and 6 percent of people ages 9 to 19 have SAD.

Parents and teachers are often the first to recognize symptoms of SAD in children. Children with SAD may begin to show signs of depression, withdraw from their friends and to experience a decline in academic performance due to an inability to concentrate. Other symptoms associated with childhood SAD include:

• Crankiness or irritability
• Temper tantrums during certain seasons
• Tiredness

Parents who notice these symptoms and others related to SAD may want to have their child examined by a physician.

Children who are diagnosed with SAD will use many of the same treatment methods as adults, including light therapy, psychotherapy and antidepressant medications. However, parents should be aware that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings regarding use of antidepressants are particularly focused on the use of these drugs in children. Studies have shown that antidepressant use may cause an increase in suicidal thoughts or behaviors in some children.

Parents can take several steps to help their children lower the risk of experiencing SAD. Parents are urged to encourage their children to get plenty of exercise, to spend time outdoors in sunlight (while the child wears proper sunscreen protection), to eat healthy foods and to get plenty of rest. Parents are also urged to help children with their homework and to remind their children that academic struggles related to an inability to concentrate should pass once the SAD is adequately treated.