To think the Princess of Wales is wrong and the years that need more support and funding are the teenage years with the 18-25 year group being the most needy.

[Alice1land35543]

Having access to private mental health support , education and all that being rich entails alongside having not experienced the teenage years I don’t think the P of W is fully informed or right.

Teens are facing huge pressures( more than ever before) and mental health struggles are soaring. Services are beyond stretched and what little there is is broken and unable to cope. Schools are struggling, paediatric wards bursting, families are on their knees and continuously battling. When unwell teens reach 18 there is nothing but a cliff edge into zero support and they are abandoned. The brain doesn’t finish developing until 25.

“If we are going to tackle the sorts of complex challenges we face today like homelessness, violence and addiction, which are so often underpinned by poverty and poor mental health, we have to fully appreciate those most preventative years and do everything we can to nurture our children and those who care for them”.

No Kate we need to focus on the years children are struggling the most, fund mental health treatment and support properly and ensure that provision for 18-25 year olds is mandatory in every trust. Early years get plenty already. Teens and parents of teens get next to nothing so why the focus on early years yet again? Maybe the teenage years and 18/25 group aren’t so media appealing.

As an aside rich celebrities jumping on the mental health bandwagon saying let’s talk about mental health and just reach out is not the answer. Those struggling with mental health can’t reach out because there is nothing to reach out to and it’s not that simplistic. That however is a whole other thread.

Sorry, don't see a problem at all. One doesn't discount the other.

I don't either. There are studies and whatnot. She's not spitballing.

But prevention is better than cure, surely? The right interventions before a child reaches 5 are more likely to prevent them needing that support as a teen or young adult.

I'm not saying that more isn't needed for teens... but the evidence says that waiting till then is too late for many.

As PP said one doesn't discount the other.

She's doing the right thing - working from foundations upwards. You don't build the roof of the house first.

Presumably because children having resilience from an early age will help them have better stability when they get older?

YABU. And weirdly personal about the Princess of Wales.

All the evidence suggests that enhancing 0-3yo experience is the best for developing brains and health.

You are right to want to support teens. You are wrong to frame it as you have done. But you sound like a worried parent and there is definitely a back story here.

The idea is that the early years interventions will act as a preventative measure so fewer yoing people will need support later on.
Obviously this is too late for the current teens and young people, so support needs to be provided there as well. But as a long term strategy, prevention is better than cure.
Its not her idea anyway. She's just the figure head delivering prepared speeches reflecting expert thinking.

We need more and better mental health services across the board, and sort out the appalling state of secondary schools.

I don’t think we can criticize her for not picking the ‘top’ good cause. There are so many things that do need funding for v good reasons. she hasn’t picked something that is a bad cause.

You are talking about relative spending and budgets which is controversial and many people will have different opinions about - I’m sure even public health professionals would disagree.

I work with 2 year olds and honestly it all begins here. These children need support throughout their education and the quicker we can give it to them the easier it will be further down the line. Prevention rather than cure!

What everyone else said...the first five years shape your brain so much.

Also, if you can't afford to pay for it, I'm not sure there is much help out there for under 5s. Health Visitors are hit and miss; Sure Start centres - there's hardly any left; nurseries are expensive and short of spaces - at my DCs if you want to add an extra day there's a year waiting list.

Nope. With Kate on this one.

Yes, those who are in a bad place right now need support.

But things will never change until we REALLY invest in the early years. Children's brains literally grow differently if they don't get the nurture they need. They end up being the teens you talk about.

So I think you're 1000% wrong on this.

I mean she's right in that prevention is better than cure, but IME as someone who has spent 15 years supporting vulnerable, struggling and disadvantaged young people who are homeless/addicts/involved in crime, there isn't the money (thanks Tories) to do both so often initiatives to 'prevent' a further generation's difficulties mean services for those currently struggling are abandoned or significantly reduced. We also need preventative services for teens and young people such as generic youth clubs where support is freely available to help cope with minor issues before they become entrenched.

If my DC had had more stable early years, they probably wouldn't then have needed so much support in the 16-20 age.

Why is it on the PoW? She's picked her cause, it's an excellent one to pick. Why is on her to pick another one? Someone else can champion that.

What are you doing to support 18-25yos with this?

YANBU at all, but YABVU to think she had those thoughts in her own head or wrote that speech herself. This is a wealthy white woman who shook hands with poor little black kids through an iron fence for God's sake. She hasn't got a clue.

I agree with you OP. It's not that the early years aren't important, but there's a lot of help and support already for that age group.
It doesn't automatically follow that children who had a difficult start will always be the ones who develop mental health issues as teens and the kids whose home lives were lovely, will be totally fine.
I think a lot of issues emerge at secondary school level - it's a much harsher environment than primary school and children are woefully underserved at this point. The mental health services are stretched and teachers are having to deal with situations that are nothing to do with teaching - they aren't therapists and should be put in the position of having to look look after kids in this way when there should be mental health experts available.
And it's true that when people are adults it's very hard to access help as there are huge waiting lists.
I know of two young men in recent years who died by suicide - something has to be done about this. Their problems came later, not when they were tiny children.

Well, Kate's special interest is early years, so she's not suddenly going to start spouting about teens. Rather than criticising her for focusing on the age group she knows best, how about contacting the Earl and Countess of Wessex, who have taken a special interest in young people, and see what the Wessex Youth Trust is doing to support teens and young adults?

It's not that the early years aren't important, but there's a lot of help and support already for that age group

Like what?

She's right. As others have said prevention is better than cure.

She's not wrong.

If children don't get the help required during their early years, it can cause lifelong problems as it changes how their brains are wired.

You need to prevent that in the first place, which is what she's trying to do. Sounds perfectly sensible to me.

You do know this is her chosen specialism don't you? She's been advocating for early years for quite some time. Also why di you say there's enough funding goes to early years? Early years is chronically underfunded to the point where things are grounding to a halt.

I dont think mental health for teens is necessarily adequately funded by the way but I don't think POW is wrong for concentrating on early years

She's right that intervention is better early.

Personally I find it incredibly bad optics that we have a system that promotes inequality & then you have the Royals who benefit from this doing their charity work to make everyone feel better about it. 😆

You do know this is her chosen specialism don't you? She's been advocating for early years for quite some time.

Out of interest has anything changed?