Mental health concerns higher in northern pre-school children

A GREATER understanding is needed of mental health problems among pre-school children, charity leaders have warned, as figures reveal a “worrying” gap over challenges across northern England.

One in 10 pre-school children in the North have been recognised as having some form of mental health condition, a figure nearly double the national average and significantly higher than that in southern England.

The Education Policy Institute, analysing the picture, has warned that policy makers should be wary of overlooking these very young children, amid anecdotal reports of rising self-harm incidents among children as young as three.

Now, charity leaders have said, a greater understanding is needed into what can prompt concerns at a time of such critical development.

“This survey has laid bare the statistics and now we need to find out what sits behind these,” said Isabella Goldie, director of the Mental Health Foundation.

“What we do know is that a healthy start in life is very important.

“Without previous survey information to help us predict a future trend then we need to be cautious at drawing conclusions but we can’t ignore that there are significant and therefore worrying variations among north and south regions.”

The Government has stressed that children’s mental health is a “key priority” with an extra £2bn a year promised, amid plans for an additional 70,000 more children a year to have access to specialist care 2021.

And the EPI, undertaking indepth analysis of the Department of Health and Social Care figures, found that the number of very young children with a diagnosable mental health condition is still very low when compared to older age groups.

The overall picture, it warns though, can mask substantial concerns within some groups of vulnerable children, with a significant rise in prevalence among younger children in the North.

In a geographical comparison, diagnosis among pre-schoolers was much higher in the region than anywhere else in the country, at 9.2 per cent compared to 3.3 per cent in the South of England, and 5.7 per cent in London.

Recognising challenges in collecting such information, particularly as prevalence rates are based solely on parental reporting, the Mental Health Foundation has said these figures should nonetheless be taken as an indicator of young children’s health.

There are regional variations over growing child poverty, said Ms Goldie, which may be linked to variances across the country in the number of young children with mental health problems.

“Importantly this data lets us act early – in children this young there is so much that can be done to reverse this trend,” she said, adding that much more research must be carried out.

“Alongside tackling child poverty, we can support parents so that they can nurture their children in a way that helps them to thrive.”

Ms Goldie added: “By acting consistently parents will help children feel safe and nurtured, and children in turn will learn how to self-soothe.

“We know that parents play a huge role in their child’s wellbeing, so it is important that new parents have as much support as possible.”

In children this young, there is so much that can be done. Isabelle Goldie, director of charity the Mental Health Foundation.