NHS data from 2024 shows one in five young Brits have experienced a mental health challenge, and nearly a million were referred to NHS mental health services last year. Yet the support children so desperately need often remains out of reach, with many children waiting months to start treatment.
Against this backdrop, many experts believe building resilience can be an effective way to tackle the crisis. It makes sense: if children can learn to cope with life’s difficulties, more will have the tools they need to avoid severe mental health spirals.
But building mental resilience in children comes with its own set of challenges. It’s important to frame mental health and wellbeing discussions in schools in an age-appropriate way that doesn’t pathologise young and impressionable minds. We also need to nurture independence without shifting the burden of responsibility for mental health struggles onto children to prevent it from feeling like a personal failing.
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