21 October 2008
In response to the release of Three years on: Survey of the emotional development and well-being of children and young people from the Office for National Statistics, Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said:
“Modern life puts our young people under terrible pressure while we offer them precious little support to help them cope, with profound consequences for their mental health and future chances in life.”
“This situation is all the more frustrating because there is so much that could be done to change things. As this survey shows, normal life events and social factors can have a lasting impact on children’s mental health. The solutions we should be offering would help build young people’s resilience and offer them support at the time and place they need it.
“Instead, support in schools is patchy, specialist mental health services are overstretched and it sometimes appears that as a society we have forgotten the basics of bringing up mentally healthy children. Our children are our society’s future, and we will all live with consequences if we continue to fail to protect their mental wellbeing.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
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The Mental Health Foundation and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation are launching a five year project on 23rd October 2008, Right Here, to find a new model for providing mental health promotion and protection to young people between 16 -25. Find out more on the Right Here website
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A 2007 report, Listen Up!, from the Mental Health Foundation found that young people look for support from generic young people’s organisations, particularly those in the voluntary sector, but that this support is underfunded and only patchily available
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The 1999 Bright Futures Inquiry from the Mental Health Foundation looked at the factors affecting children and young people’s mental health and proposed a practical framework to help protect it
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The Primary Review from the University of Cambridge reported in 2007 that children of primary school age are suffering from anxiety and stress
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A 2007 report from UNICEF put the UK at the bottom of a list of industrialised nations for children’s wellbeing
The fifth report from The Good Childhood Inquiry found that the UK is failing to meet the mental health needs of its children
For more information contact Simon Loveland on 020 7803 1130 or sloveland@mhf.org.uk
The Mental Health Foundation uses research and practical projects to help people survive, recover from and prevent mental health problems. We work to influence policy, including government at the highest levels. And we use our knowledge to raise awareness and to help tackle the stigma attached to mental illness. We reach millions of people every year through our media work, information booklets and online services. www.mentalhealth.org.uk
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