MENTAL-HEALTH support for in England and Wales is not reaching them before they are in crisis, the has warned.
To coincide with Children’s Mental Health Week (3 to 9 February), the charity published its poll of 3011 parents of children aged four to 17, conducted in November 2024 — more than 70 per cent of whom said that their child or children had been affected by mental-health problems.
Of these 2137 parents, almost half (45 per cent) said that their child or children had sought help regarding their mental health. And, of this group, fewer than one third (29 per cent) reported that their child or children had received the support that they had needed; 16 per cent had not received the required support.
More than one third of parents (38 per cent) had sought support for their child or children who had been affected by mental-health problems in one or more ways — 53 per cent from school; 39 per cent from the GP; 25 per cent from friends and family; 25 per cent from a mental-health charity; 25 per cent privately; 13 per cent through an online forum; and 13 per cent through the local council website.
More than half of all parents surveyed (51 per cent) agreed that current waiting times or thresholds were preventing their children from accessing the support that they needed, and 85 per cent agreed that more mental-health and well-being support should be offered to children earlier, before crisis-point.
The Children’s Society said that this left “thousands of children stuck in limbo” and at risk of spiralling “into a full-blown crisis”.
To reinforce the message, the charity has digitally edited a series of photographs of statues of children from across the country, giving each a new inscription. For example, the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens, in London, is given a new plaque: “Peter Pan never ages — but Liverpool’s children do. They can’t wait months for mental health support. Statues stand still. Childhoods can’t.”
The chief executive of the Children’s Society, Mark Russell, said: “Parents aren’t asking for miracles — they’re asking for basic support before problems snowball, but, instead, are met with barriers and delays. Far too many children are counting down the days to crisis this winter — their childhoods are hanging in the balance.
“Children can’t wait for weeks or months for treatment, they need immediate help before their issues hit crisis point. We must act now to ensure every child has access to the mental health care they need.”