Did you know that in the UK, despite being one of the best countries to live in the world and the world's sixth biggest economy (as of 2024) - that by the time British children are 17 years old; 7% of them have attempted suicide? That's nearly 1 in 10.
During 2023 it was identified that 1 in every 5 children have a possible mental health disorder, and out of these children 20.3% are aged between 8 and 17, and then the figures for 17 to 19-year-olds reaches 23.3% with 21.7% of 20-25 year-olds with the figures rising every year.
Suicide is noted as the main cause of death in children and young people.
There are lots of reasons that are linked to the suicides which include: Mental health challenges, self-harm, worrying about achieving in education and feeling under pressure, not being able to manage bullying, feeling socially isolated, struggles and challenges at home, neglect, substance misuse, these circumstances can grow over time and become worse for the child. These experiences can lead to; traumatic thresholds during adverse childhood and deprivation of material and psychological needs not being met. Poor physical health and self-neglect feeding the cycles of mental health difficulties, inevitably leading to feelings of hopelessness.
Suicide robs a child of their future life chances and opportunities, and brings devastation to families. When a child suffers with mental health, they could fantasise about suicide ideation , attempt suicide, or self-harm as a coping mechanism.
One in six children aged five to 16 were identified as having a probable mental health problem in July 2021, a huge increase from one in nine in 2017. That’s five children in every classroom.
Official records do not hold the true numbers that have affected children and young people as suicide is not always easy to prove. But cases have been identified after death where suicide ideation has been present. Suicide places a big responsibility on coroners when determining deaths due to red tape (legal barriers) so new laws came into effect from 2018 to give more powers to coroners when determining causes of deaths by using ‘balance of probabilities’ so the figures are likely to rise. The previous procedure used to certify deaths were recorded if they were ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.
Many children and young people do not understand mental health and there is a stigma around mental health which causes barriers for children and young people reaching out for support. Children and young people take these experiences with them into adulthood causing distress, lack of opportunities, numerous Accident and Emergency (A&E) admissions for attempted suicides placing a lot of pressure on Britain's treasured National Health Service (NHS). These obstacles can be a constant pattern that young people have sadly experienced throughout their childhood.
At the Life matters we believe that all children should be given the opportunity to do programmes as a child that will help them to understand the basics of psychology around how the brain works, this would lead to understanding how to seek help when in crisis, and also contributes to a healthier mental health that empowers their resilience.
Educating children will promote confidence, promote self-esteem, help them to have healthy boundaries, and promote their self-awareness - giving them opportunities that enable them to thrive and find a sense of peace and wellbeing.
Research statistics from NHS England
Article by, Mary Brockwell CEO The Life Matters
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