Canada (Commonwealth Union)_ The number of children struggling with depression and anxiety have increased, coinciding with an increase in self-harm among young individuals.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that between 2001 and 2020, the suicides rates among children 10 to 18 years old increased by more than 50%.
A separate CDC report created on poison control center data shows the rate of suspected suicide attempts by self-poisoning among children ages 10 to 12 rose 73% from 2019 to 2021. For 13- to 15-year-olds, the rate of such attempts increased by about 50%.
Moreover, unfettered access to technology, unreasonable academic expectations, and increased societal anxieties are harming many children. But all hope is not lost. Everyone can make commonsense adjustments that will save lives and improve the mental health of the next generation.
We know that children can have a rough time with in-person interactions – a problem worsened for many because of the pandemic, especially for those who were in a weak stage of development when COVID-19 hit.
Many children, feeling isolated and lonely, will retreat to their online world. For attention, they turn to social media and rate themselves based on likes and other digital barometers of social success. Girls are especially helpless to staring endlessly at doctored photos and obsessing over why they don’t look the same.
As the surgeon general has recommended, we should set limits for our children’s social media use. And as children discover social media, parents should talk openly about the dangers of taking it too seriously. Parents should go as far as downloading social media apps and involve with their children about their online world. Those moments can be opportunities for conversations about self-esteem, gender identity, body image, and other vital mental health topics.
Equally oppressive for many children is the pressure of being accepted to a top-tier university. At Northwell Health here in New York, there is a mental health support services for most schools on Long Island. Through the program, we see children who are 12, already worried about whether they’ll get into an Ivy League school. No child should be crippled by that sort of pressure – never mind a student in middle school.
These social pressures can have a cascading effect since modern parenting practices often safeguard children from difficult experiences. As a result, their children have a hard time to build resilience and learn from hardships.
For a whole generation, it’s too late to change every behavior or risk factor, which is why it’s important to take children seriously if they speak about suicide or ask for medical help.
As health care providers, our responsibility is to educate everyone about the dangers. That includes speaking directly to communities – in person or online – on how to get help or support children. We also should train school administrators about the importance of mental health support and school connectedness, which can make a difference in students’ lives.
Speaking to – and learning from – children, is also important, since they recognize the negative impact of stress and have been making great strides in approaching mental health with less stigma than previous generations.
