To ask why there are so many kids with mental health problems?

I have been wondering this too. I don't have kids but from talking to colleagues who have teens it seems they don't go out or have friends IRL. Not sure how common that is. Another thing I've noticed is that they aren't expected to have a PT job or do any chores. When I was at school (early 2000s) we all had a Saturday job or say babysitting. I think it helped me build competence as I had to speak to people and be vaguely competent. But perhaps that is not allowed anymore.

I think divorce rate and relationship breakdowns are through the roof at the minute too which has an awful effect on kids.

Poverty, and larger gaps between rich and poor than before

Parents having to move away from their own support networks as they can't afford to live near where they are from, or work has taken them away.

Lockdown

Diet

Social media

Put in childcare young, away from family (contentious, I'm sure, but I do believe it).

Your are misguided.

Children do get into trouble at school.

@widowtwankywashroom

She said let them cry a bit, not cry it out.

There is a difference

Yes, there is.

I never mentioned crying it out.

There are so many different factors, many of which have already been mentioned on this thread.

It won't be a popular opinion, but I think poor parenting can also be a factor in lots of cases. Certainly not all.

There's an increase in mental health problems in adults, too.

I reckon there is less of an increase than we think. There are certainly more adults talking about their mental health, but did these adults really not have any issues before they first spoke? I think a lot of adults with mental health problems were teenagers with poor mental health. We just didn't talk about it. We didn't have the platforms we have now and back when I was a teen anyone with mental health issues would have been seen as an outcast, a failure, the weirdo, the psycho. We didn't tell anyone how we felt.

She said let them cry a bit, not cry it out.
There is a difference

I agree OP. Definitely an overall increase not just an increase in diagnosis.

Chaotic family situations (so called 'blended families', different partners coming and going & general lack of children feeling safe and secure in their home).

Social media and the comparisons with others. Also, lots of children feel like they have propor relationships with total strangers online, while simultaneously having very limited social skills and relationships in real life.

General lack in this country of taking responsibility for your own actions. Always someone else's fault - school, government, council ect. This attitude get passed on to our children. This attitude also makes people feel like they don't have control (because nothing is their responsibility) and the feeling of no control isn't good for mental health.

Absolutely nothing to do with social media or lockdown in our house. Ds had undiagnosed autism and was unsupported and horrendously bullied at mainstream school. Even now at 19 and in specialist education he's still massively struggling with his mental health.

And young people years ago did have mental ill health, it was often just hidden and not talked about. I had significant difficulties (not just normal teenage things) that my parents hid away, told me bad things would happen to me if anyone found out. Turns out I'm also autistic. Throw in some childhood trauma on top and I'm now in my late forties dealing with some of the issues that should of been supported 30+ years ago.

Covid, social media, stereotyping, peer pressure, exam pressure, family financial pressures, poor diets, lack of exercise, parents being more interested in their phones than actually talking to their children, schools being overstretched, curriculum too broad so children are too pressured, no time in the curriculum to pause, families being overstretched emotionally, financially and with time...

@Newmama29

I now have a toddler & I am mindful of how I’m raising him to have resilience in the world. We are so mum-shamed if we give our child into trouble or let them cry a bit that our children are unable to regulate their own emotions later in life.

I taught mine resilience by offering security, not by 'letting them cry' - resilience isn't going to be learnt by a toddler crying. I think you probably need to look into resilience a bit more before making bold statements that some children are less resilient because they didn't get into trouble. That's not at all how it works.

We pathologise everything!
You can't be anxious about something it has to be anxiety and managed
You can't be sad, its depression

There's an increase in mental health problems in adults, too. Pretending that it's just kids and that it's just that they're not resilient or whatever is masking a wider trend.

Lockdown and social media are probably the main culprits.

I'm not convinced myself that it's particularly good for young children (under three, at least) to be in childcare settings all day. But I admit that's not something I have robust research to back up - I did look at some research eons ago but everything I found was about school readiness, and mostly for children from deprived backgrounds. So not really relevant to teenage mental health.

Social media, parents not keeping an eye on child's phone and internet use and the rise of indoctrination and brainwashing by left wing educators who confuse the minds of children.

Lockdown - adults too.
I wierdly lost contact with a lot of people as juggling work & DC and nothing else
Social Media - from Dawn til dusk they watch stuff, compare themselves, see people doing stuff they not invited to. It's relentless.
School funding - less money for sport etc to give kids an outlet, only 1/2 hour lunch breaks.
Poor diets - my DC included
Constant gaming - if not on, missing out

This

Comparison is the thief of happiness.

Maybe social media, war in Ukraine, climate crisis, Covid, inability to afford rent (let alone buy), AI going to destroy humanity, pressure to live "best life", want a thigh gap, exam pressure, decline of bees, food insecurity and increased poverty.

Take your pick.

I work in young people's mh and it's like an avalanche of referrals. We used to have 40-50 a month, now 120.

I also think, to a lesser degree, we now have a tendency to pathologise the normal. I hear parents say "my child gets angry and shouts", that's not poor mh that's being a teen.

I have asked the same questions, we moved from UK to rural Sweden a number of years ago. My kids go to a small rural school only 16 in their class and I would say around 70% have or have had some kind of mental health issue.

I agree - all of these things, plus:

Children aren't allowed to fail any more. Parents do their absolute best to ensure their children don't have any uncomfortable feelings, do their own risk assessments for things like climbing trees, timetable their every moment for clubs etc. The intent is obviously very well-meaning, but I do think this has also had an impact.

I don't know, but having a son with MH and self harm, I would like to know if I could have handled things differently.

I think, generally speaking, social media is horrible. Kids can get bullied in their own bedrooms, a nasty thing said by one person is repeated by others. Also it puts unnecessary pressure to conform to unrealistic stereotypes.

Schools are a lot more pressurised than when I went. I am not completely convinced about the national curriculum. I can see it ensures that all kids are taught the same, but it is relentless and leaves no room for teachers to go over stuff again, so some kids fall further and further behind.

And some food is not great, over processed, full of stuff we wouldn't naturally eat.

Then there is weed. Lots of people tell me it's fine, won't hurt etc., But I am not convinced a growing, developing and maturing brain needs it. Unfortunately it's everywhere, it's very common and more kids smoke it than perhaps parents realise.