We are supposed to be a First World Country, whatever that means, with all its offensive undertones, and yet our children continue to suffer the consequences. The UK is still woefully poor when it comes to meeting child welfare standards across the board (think UN targets and embarrassing results in the tackling of child poverty) and it seems that our children’s mental health is now taking a whack.
The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) estimates that 80,000 children in the UK are now suffering with depression, and that children as young as five are suffering with the condition.
Hop on over to Young Minds, and their stats on Mental Health and kids is just as depressing:
- 1 in 10 children and young people aged 5 – 16 suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder – that is around three children in every class (1).
- Between 1 in every 12 and 1 in 15 children and young people deliberately self-harm (2)
- There has been a big increase in the number of young people being admitted to hospital because of self harm. Over the last ten years this figure has increased by 68% (3).
- More than half of all adults with mental health problems were diagnosed in childhood. Less than half were treated appropriately at the time (4).
- Nearly 80,000 children and young people suffer from severe depression (5).
- Over 8,000 children aged under 10 years old suffer from severe depression (6).
- 72% of children in care have behavioural or emotional problems – these are some of the most vulnerable people in our society (7).
- 95% of imprisoned young offenders have a mental health disorder. Many of them are struggling with more than one disorder (8).
- The number of young people aged 15-16 with depression nearly doubled between the 1980s and the 2000s (9).
- The proportion of young people aged 15-16 with a conduct disorder more than doubled between 1974 and 1999 (10).
(Their website offers a more detailed breakdown of the stats, unfortunate pun not intended).
But the 80,000 figure stat is nothing new – check Young Minds’ source for their figure of the same and you can see it comes from a 2005 report entitled Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain 2004. So what gives?
If we are going to assume that depression in children on this scale has been known to our government since 2005, that’s eight years, it really begs the question, why on Earth is this not being addressed immediately?
Researching Reform 
Natasha,
Could it be there is no benefits to others? No profits? Mental health has always been way down on the governments agenda and hardly any money has been allotted over decades.
There has been little if any research into why children are currently not happy and generally depressed. There would need to be much more research into why. I would like to see a breakdown of where in the UK its more prevalent, to whom, what support the family has or are they isolated, has there been social services intervention, are they living with their parents, extended family, fostered, adopted, what nationality, are they recent immigrants, what income, employment, the health of the child or parents, any medication, vaccines taken, housing, what diet, what they like to do in leisure time, what prevents that, friendships, education and childhood experiences.
When you have a breakdown then you can take steps to deal with it but that can only happen if the government puts money toward the problem. The governments focus is very short term.
If I were PM I would make changes for family preservation first. Stop forced adoption. Sort out decent housing for all. Back to basics education programmes to assist both children and adults get enough knowledge to budget, cook, sew etc. Education should not just be academic but include practical skills and these have been sadly lacking in schools over the past decades.
Early intervention should happen but doesn’t when it comes to mental health. When it comes to those at the bottom of society, those in the middle disregard them and those at the top despise them. As it is affecting all members of society they need to deal with it sooner rather than later but they won’t! Sad reflection on our government, past and present.
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I’m sure that’s part of it, D.
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I should be astonished if there’s not a strong causal link between the state’s assaults on the nuclear family, and the increasing incidence of mental health problem in children and young adults. Assaulting the nuclear family and financing the lifestyle option of single motherhood have been the default policy directions of successive governments for 30+ years, and accelerated under the Labour administrations (1997-2010) due to the nefarious activities of Harriet Harman and her like. The Conservative-led coalition has been no better. The proposed ‘tax breaks’ for married couples is truly pathetic – not all couples who are married will get it, and those who do will benefit by less than £4 per week.
Mike Buchanan
JUSTICE FOR MEN & BOYS
(and the women who love them)
http://j4mb.org.uk
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Reblogueó esto en Los españoles se merecen saberlo, por la Paz y la verdadera Igualdad en España!y comentado:
La Salud Mental de los Niños en el siglo XXI – un barómetro que no podemos ignorar
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Perhaps they are referring to 80.000 kids in the care system as no one really knows the true figures of looked after children. 49% of prisoners in the jails with hundreds in psyciatric hospitals with kids wrongly diognosed with ADHD and we know that Dr Eisenberg a psychiactrist on his death bed said ADHD was a fictitious disorder that he him self made up but still 12.000 presciptions for Ritalin are prescibed a month, The FDA and the Drug Enforcement in America have under schedual 11 stated RITALIN is very similer to Cocain Morphine and other brain damaging drugs. Trouble is with Governments they only listern to what they want to listern to sitting in their warm offices allowing the medical world to kill off the next generations with drugs and vaccinations. Every kid in the world wants hugs loving and stories with many children to grow up with their little fantasies and when they are naughty this is how they learn to be good by being told in a loving way wrong from right.A grandmother was told by a senior social worker kids aged 10 are to old to beleive in santa and as for Lego the kid was banned because he was to old to play Lego, so much for the 80.000 kids who are controled by the governments SS poor little kids money can buy material things but cannot ever buy the lost childhood days with their fantasies poor little kids are to busy trying to protect them selves from being abused in the care system, with many ending up as drug addicts from bloody Ritalin, with now 5 reports to me that the kids aged 15-16 have ADHD and will have to now stay in adult care, or is it more kids bodies to play with, the kids in care are the silent witnesses, I remember the Psyco hospital in Frien Barnet London and the staff use to beat hell out of the patents with wet towels so the patents did not bruise and I was told it was for a laugh but who cares for the people out of a system going into the next system, its known as the control of the population, let the plebs bleed to death fiscally and mentally.
MAGGIE TUTTLE
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