3 d. ago Children are speaking to strangers online – and grooming is on the rise. This is how to protect them | Devi Sridhar

Parents are used to worrying about walking home alone and sleepovers, but games and messaging apps pose new risksWhen we look at what causes poor mental health, we often think of stress, genetics, poverty or loneliness. These are all contributing factors, but there’s another, more hidden cause that isn’t talked about enough: abuse, especially during childhood. I recall Chad Varah, the founder of Samaritans, reflecting that there were many things that drove people to call the charity’s suicide helpline. But abuse was a prominent reason.Abuse isn’t an easy subject to raise or talk about. It brings up issues of gender dynamics – a colleague studying global sexual abuse told me: “The vast majority of perpetrators are men; the victims are equally boys and girls.” These are hard issues to think about, harder still to discuss and difficult to address. They challenge notions of safety, trust, family and community. But if we want to make progress in addressing poor mental health, we have to ...

Politics

5 d. ago Poor mental health as child limits capacity to work in later life, study finds

Children in Great Britain with serious conditions 68% more likely to have limited ability to work as adults, report saysChildren in Great Britain with serious mental health conditions are two-thirds more likely to have a limited ability to work in adulthood, according to research from a leading thinktank.The report by researchers at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) looked at data from about 6,000 people who took part in the 1970 British Cohort Study, which is following the lives of individuals born in a single week in 1970 across Great Britain. Continue reading...

Society

5 d. ago Children with poor mental health less likely to work as adults – report finds

Children and young people with severe mental and behavioural problems are 85% more likely to have symptoms of depression at age 51.

Society

7 d. ago Eight questions that indicate depression as mental illness in Brits on the rise

Depression has almost doubled since before the pandemic and experts warn social media and family breakdowns are contributing to a ‘lost and lonely generation’ of Brits

Science

7 d. ago Schoolchildren to be taught to develop 'grit' that prepares them for 'life's ups and downs' in government drive to cut mental health problems

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson and Health Secretary Wes Streeting made the vow as they unveiled a new push to reduce absences caused by poor mental health.

Politics

2 w. ago LORD BLUNKETT: My plan to rekindle the spirit of the VE Day generation, by getting our lost youngsters in the habit of working

LORD BLUNKETT: As we celebrate the 80th anniversary this week of VE Day, it is worth reflecting on the courage, commitment and resilience of those who made it possible.

Politics

3 w. ago Generation will be lost to poor mental health without safeguards on tech – Cass

Baroness Hilary Cass described the impact of smart devices on children’s sleep, attention span and education as ‘an economic timebomb’.

Science