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 a 2010 report from the University of Otago, 18 percent of 11-year-olds and up to 40 percent of 18-year-olds reported a mental health disorder within the past 12 months.

A report published in 2012 also drew attention to the worrying rates of depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts in teenagers, with 29 percent of female secondary school students and 18 percent of male students reporting deliberately self-harming in the last 12