Let children go through school of hard knocks

Itfeels like there’s troubling report after troubling report being released about the mental health of our young people. Most recently it was a survey for The Prince’s Trust, suggesting the number who do not believe life is worth living has doubled in the last decade.

Alongside that, we learn of similar rises in the number of under 18s being treated for addiction to sleeping and anxiety pills.

Young people can feel worried about all sorts of things, but behind their poorer mental health there is a wider societal problem with how much we’re overprotecting kids. That includes in schools where activities are too often participation-based instead of competitive. Life usually involves failure and success and we have to learn how to deal with both.

Young people also tend to live in the moment rather than looking ahead and saving money because instant gratification has taken over.

I’ve spoken a lot about social media and how people tend to share this fake “everything is rosy in my garden” view of their life. But when you combine the mix of influences on young people, you start to see why they can feel inadequate and unprepared for life. The mental health nurses and counsellors brought into schools are only scratching the surface. While smart phones provide volumes of information and opportunities for learning, they can also create isolation and despair. I drove past a school minibus the other week and far from the high jinks on board that I recalled from my own childhood, the kids were all sat heads down silently glued to their devices.

Understanding how this is damaging them and acting on it has to be a priority.

That includes allowing kids to go through the school of hard knocks, learning from their mistakes and building resilience, while restricting their access to the social media streams that fill their heads with things that cause insecurity and limit their ability to communicate and socialise.