Emotional health in the spotlight

NCH defines emotional wellbeing as having empathy, confidence andself-awareness.

The charity called attention to findings from recent studies by theNuffield Foundation and the Office of National Statistics, which showedthat one in ten children have a significant mental health disorder, andthat emotional problems in the young have doubled since the early1990s.

Clare Tickell, chief executive of NCH, said, 'The lack of emotionalwell-being among our children and young people is undermining thefoundations of any social policy to combat social exclusion, deprivationor lack of social mobility. We urge Gordon Brown and his cabinet tocommit them- selves to tackling this hidden and fast-growingproblem.'

Barbara Herts, chief executive of Young Minds, said, 'One in ten youngpeople will suffer from a mental illness in their childhood and theseyoung people often become susceptible to social exclusion, educationaldifficulties and long-term economic problems. With 8,760 five- toten-year-olds already seriously depressed, it is urgent that positivemental well-being is promoted from the start to prevent a generation ofchildren missing out.'