Children under more pressure than ever, say grandparents

FOUR in five grandparents believe that young people are under more pressure than previous generations, polling suggests, amid mounting concern about a crisis in mental health.

Experts said children growing up in the shadow of Covid were facing “agonising” waits for help, as they struggled to adjust to life after lockdown.

It follows warnings of a doubling in some mental health conditions among children.

Official figures show more than one million referrals of children for specialist mental health help were made last year, with cases rising by one quarter overall since 2019.

The polling by mental health charity Mind involved 2,000 grandparents and 2,000 parents of children and young people below the age of 25.

In total, four in five grandparents thought young people face more pressure now than in their day, while almost two in three thought young people are lonelier.

More than half of parents polled thought their children’s mental health had worsened since the pandemic.

The charity urged the Government to fund a network of drop-in centres, saying lack of action to tackle a growing crisis “risks failing a whole generation”.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We recognise the pandemic had a significant impact on the mental health of children and young people, and we are taking action to fix this.

“This includes investing £79million into children’s mental health services last year, enabling around 22,500 more children and young people to access support in their communities, and across schools and colleges.”