What Research Tells Us (The Science Bit)

In the US, as in the UK, rates of anxiety and depression among school-age children are rising. One fifth of eight- to 25-year-olds had a probable mental disorder in 2023, according to NHS England. In US research, two psychologists and one anthropologist argue that while poor mental health in childhood is often blamed on increased use of digital technologies, or more pressure for high academic achievement, another cause is overlooked: a decline over decades in opportunities for children to “play, roam and engage in other activities independent of direct oversight and control by adults”.

What they found: The researchers summarised US evidence that showed from the 1960s onwards, children’s freedom to take part in activities involving risk or personal responsibility has declined. Children as young as five used to play more with older children away from adults. Parental fears of crime and traffic leads them to restrict independent activities. The paper quotes statistics from the UK that show a sharp decline in the number of children allowed to walk or take the bus home from school. They found school terms have lengthened, as has the amount of time children spend on homework, ‘even in kindergarten’.