Parents Identify The Depressed And Anxious Generation

MORE than a million children are suffering from anxiety or depression according to parents, new research reveals today.

Three-quarters (75%) of the nation's parents say peer pressure and school stresses such as bullying and exams have the greatest impact on their child's emotional health and wellbeing.

And combined with societal pressure about body image, kids across the country are prone to stress, panic attacks and depression according to nearly a fifth (17%) of mums and dads questioned in Norwich Union Healthcare's 'Growing Pains' study.

Commenting on the findings, Dinah Morley, director of children's mental health charity YoungMinds says: "The results of the 'Growing Pains' study clearly show that mental health problems are rising amongst adolescents in the UK - many young people feel desperately anxious about how they are going to take their place in the adult world. As for why this is occurring, we can only point to a number of contemporary factors which impact on adolescents, undermining their plans for the future and setting goals which are virtually unattainable."

The study of more than 400 parents of children aged five to 15 was commissioned by Norwich Union Healthcare as it launches a national initiative to help parents get the best support for their child's emotional and physical wellbeing.

Working with Dr Foster, the health insurer has developed an online information guide to children's health services as part of its www.personalhealthmanager.co.uk website. It's designed to help the increasing numbers of worried parents who feel unsupported.

More than half (58%) admit they wouldn't know where to go for help because of a lack of information and over a fifth (21%) think that seeing their GP about their child's mental health would be a waste of time.

Again, more than half (55%) of parents questioned don't think there's enough health services specifically for children in their area and seven in 10 (69%) believe the Government should be investing more in the provision of mental health services for children and young people.

Dr Doug Wright, clinical development manager at Norwich Union Healthcare says: "It's often the case that while children's services are available locally, parents don't know where to look for information and advice on what they can access in their area.

"By developing this online information facility we're aiming to provide parents with the tools they need to support their children through times of anxiety."

The Norwich Union Healthcare 'Growing Pains' study also found:

• More than three quarters (78%) of parents say their children are under far greater pressure than they were when they were growing up
  
  
• One in 20 (5%) parents worry their child is at risk of developing an eating disorder as a result of today's pressures. Other worries also include not wanting to go to school (33%), nervous habits such as nail biting (16%) and unexplained stomach problems (11%)
  
  
• 70% of mums are more likely to talk directly to their child than dads (61%) if they think there's a problem - four per cent say they'd do nothing unless their child asked them directly for help
  
  
• A quarter (24%) of parents say they feel out of touch or distant from their child and three quarters (74%) worry that lack of communication in families could be contributing to problems
  
  
• More than half (52%) of parents say that knowing what health services are available for their children in an area would play a part in their decision on where to move
  
  
• Regionally, bullying is the biggest issue for kids in London (19 per cent)
  
  
• While parents in Scotland fear that the pressure of exams and school work is the biggest issue for Scots children (25 per cent)

Personal Health Manager includes information on the emergency department, inpatient and surgical services available at NHS hospitals across the country, as well as details of paediatric consultants. Parents can also search for child and adolescent mental health services across the UK.