Action required: children’s mental health crisis spirals

A coalition of charities are calling on the government to overhaul children’s mental health support. 

Today (28th January), a group of leading charities has published a roadmap aimed at tackling the UK’s growing children’s mental health crisis.  

The plan, known as Future Minds, was created by the Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Young Lives, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition and YoungMinds. 

The publication comes after a new Mumsnet survey revealed 77% of parents worry about their children’s mental health, with almost a third reporting serious concern. What’s more, just 3% of parents think the government is doing enough to address the problem. 

The survey, which included 1,009 responses from parents of children aged five to 17, revealed social media, bullying and academic pressures as the main factors driving the crisis. 

Andy Bell, chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health, said: ‘Transforming children’s mental health must sit at the heart of the government’s moral mission to change the course for this generation.’ 

In similar vein, Justine Roberts, founder and executive chair of Mumsnet, remarked: ‘Parents are doing everything possible to support their children, often at a significant personal cost, but they are battling a failing system.

‘It is vital that the government acts to reform children’s mental health provision and provide the support that families urgently need.’ 

In a bid to tackle the issue, the roadmap calls for expanded community-based support and greater use of digital tools to help close treatment gaps. 

Currently, around one in five young people aged between eight to 25 report a diagnosable mental health condition – including anxiety and depression – with girls and young women particularly affected.  

Crucially, campaigners claim that rising child poverty, weakening social relationships and the lasting effects of the pandemic are contributing to the downfall of youth’s mental health.

The idea that social media is damaging young people’s mental health has dominated headlines recently, with the roadmap coming just days after the government launched a consultation on banning social media for young people. 

Connie Muttock, head of policy at the Centre for Young Lives, said: ‘The UK is the European leader of youth unhappiness, with poor mental health in childhood reaching unprecedented heights, the consequences of which will ripple through generations to come.’

‘Parents and children are crying out for help and to find services and the government is not yet doing enough to reform the system,’ Muttock continued. ‘This roadmap gives them the solutions needed to turn the tide on this growing crisis. It is just one part of a sweeping strategy we want to see from the government to match the scale of the challenge.’

Cllr Amanda Hopgood, chair of the Local Government Association’s children, young people and families committee, added: ‘These findings highlight the crisis in children’s mental health and underline the need for urgent action ensuring every child gets the help they need when they need it.

‘To truly tackle the children’s mental health crisis, there should be a cross-government plan to support children and young people alongside adequate funding for children’s services.’

Image: Future Minds 

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