YOUNG minds

Silence at the dinner table, the slamming of bedroom doors, arguments, tantrums and tears – no one is denying that parenting a child or teen is hard, but for the most part, mood swings and the occasional outburst should be exactly that; occasional. In recent years however, child and adolescent mental health statistics have become increasingly alarming.

Anxiety in young people is now commonplace and according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, almost 15 percent of young people between the age of four and 17 will have had a mental health disorder within the past 12 months.

A report published in 2015 also drew attention to the worrying rates of depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts in teenagers, with approximately one in 10 indicating that they have engaged in self-harming behaviour, and nearly one in five girls