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Violent psychological pressure The burden on children increases massively
New research indicates that children are mentally ill today. The pressure to perform, which the kids are exposed to, starts earlier and earlier. In addition, today's kids have to cope with parental separations more often. And they often become bullying victims.
Performance pressure always comes earlier
Math examination, school until 3 pm, then directly home and back to the desk to do a mountain of homework. For many students a normal and everyday scenario. In the meantime, every fifth young person in Germany suffers from stress. According to experts, the pressure to perform is coming more and more often and earlier to the children. The consequences include stomachache and anxiety. In addition, today's kids have to cope with parental separations more often. Or bullying: Have students teased themselves in the past on the playground, the commonplace today often manifested in social networks permanently.
Children are mentally sicker today than they used to be. This is indicated by current studies. The pressure to perform is always earlier with the little ones. Many of them are also bullying victims. (Image: Focus Pocus LTD / fotolia.com) Report on the mental health of children
A particularly dramatic case was the suicide of Amanda Todd. As the news agency dpa reports, the girl exposed as a twelve-year-old innocently in a chat via webcam in front of a stranger her upper body. Amanda was killed at the age of fifteen when the man published the photos. Her death made headlines worldwide. But is it really harder for children today? And are they actually mentally sicker? There are studies pointing in this direction. Just a few days ago, Bavaria's Health Minister Melanie Huml (CSU) presented a report on the mental health of children and adolescents, according to which every fourth child in Bavaria grows up with mental health problems or developmental disorders. This is shown by data from the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of Bavaria (KVB) and health insurances. In a statement from the Ministry Huml said: "We now have a comprehensive information base on the mental health of children and adolescents in Bavaria."
"Such things are taken more seriously today"
However, the numbers did not mean that every fourth child was ill, said Berthold Koletzko from the Hauner Children's Hospital of the University of Munich. These are abnormalities. "Such things are taken more seriously today," said Koletzko according to dpa. Therefore, they would also be found more often. "But it's also true that children have more burdens." In the agency report, children report on their stress: "Sometimes, when we have so many homework and a lot to learn, then I feel under pressure," said the eleven-year-old Kilian. Eight-year-old Noah is "afraid of nightmares and when I have to go to bed alone in the evening". Seven-year-old Jonathan said, "I'm scared of war. Because a lot of people are dying. Because they shoot with pistols and rifles. I often think about the dead. "They all like to be at home or with friends. "The most important thing is that I have time," says Kilian.
Less stress for adolescents
Health experts advise to practice relaxation with the children to prevent stress. In addition to the progressive muscle relaxation (progressive muscle relaxation) offer here, among other autogenic training or yoga, which is also offered in different cities explicitly for children. "There is a need to do more in prevention - to support and empower children, young people and families, and to reduce the burden on the school," said Koletzko. The effects can be manifold: school anxiety, fear of exams, sleep and learning problems, eating disorders, hyperactivity, impotence, or "grown-up" children who may not play with their peers or children who are too eager to help others. As the dpa message states, scientists describe a "new morbidity," with a shift from physical illnesses to problems of mental development, emotionality, and social behavior.
ADHD accounts for half of the diagnoses
According to the Bavarian study, developmental disorders are the most common diagnosis among infants and preschool children. Between the ages of seven and fourteen, behavioral and emotional disorders become more important. Just over half of the diagnoses make up the attention deficit syndrome ADHD. In adolescents, depression comes along. However, Koletzko warned against premature conclusions, especially in ADHD. "This diagnosis is very difficult to make. The distinction between congestion and a real illness is not always easy. "
Success in alcohol and tobacco prevention
The Munich therapist Klaus Neumann also said: "You should be careful what you measure." If, for example, the limits for cholesterol were changed, "the statistics promptly prove that the cholesterol risk has increased enormously". From the point of view of adults, some of the results are that adolescents have a harder time today - because even today they would have a harder time finding their way around a digitized world, for example. Neumann, commissioner in the Professional Association of German Psychologists for the Rights of the Child, also sees an increasing burden. "Belonging is more and more about externals," says the expert. "Right now we have a fight with society that really matters. And there the kids are left alone. Old role models have begun to waver. But nothing new has been established yet. "His" diagnosis "reads:" The pathologizing limit has been lowered. The anxiety of parents has increased. "The doctor Koletzko pointed to improvements in smoking and alcohol. According to the current study, alcoholic poisoning was reduced in adolescents in Bavaria. The Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) also reported a decline in alcohol and cigarette consumption among teenagers. According to the figures, the proportion of smokers aged twelve to 17 dropped by almost ten percent. "These are successes of prevention," says Koletzko. (Ad)