Building Resilience
Challenges to resilience:
The concerns of children
and young people
Parent Brochure
Mental health problems are common in children and young
people
Many children and young people experience periods of depression or anxiety which
are strong enough to be called a mental health problem. Mental health problems are
experienced by:


Around 14% of 4-17 year olds – that is close to one in every seven children
27% of 18-25 year olds – that is over one in every four young people
Mental health problems are also common amongst adults



Around 19% of 12-24 year olds live with a parent who has a mental health problem
Around one in every five adults will experience a mental health problem
Females are twice as likely as males to report high or very high levels of
psychological distress
What are young people concerned about?
One way to discover the major concerns of children and young people is to look at the
statistics provided by services such as Kids Helpline. The table below highlights key
issues that children raised when calling Kids Helpline in 2012. The data is grouped by
age and by gender.
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Age 15-19
Age 10-14
Age 5-9
Females
Males
1. Family relationships
1. Family relationships
2. Bullying
2. Bullying
3. Friends/peer groups
3. Emotional wellbeing
4. Emotional wellbeing
4. Child abuse
5. Child abuse
5. Friends/peer relationships
1. Mental health concerns
1. Family relationships
2. Family relationships
2. Bullying
3. Emotional wellbeing
3. Emotional wellbeing
4. Suicide-related concerns
4. Child abuse
5. Dating and partner relationships
5. Friends/peer relationships
1. Mental health concerns
1. Mental health concerns
2. Dating and partner relationships
2. Dating and partner relationships
3. Emotional wellbeing
3. Emotional wellbeing
4. Suicide-related concerns
4. Friends/peer relationships
5. Family relationships
5. Family relationships
Other data shows that very young children also experience a range of concerns and
stressors. Recent research highlighted that children aged 3-5 years are often afraid of:









Uncertainty – or not knowing what will be happening to them
Getting lost or being abandoned by a significant adult
Toileting accidents
Getting into trouble with a teacher or parent
Trying something new
Being bullied or teased by other children
Whether they will have friends
The dark
Losing something or someone special
In a recent study, young people aged 15-19 reported their top three concerns as:
1. Coping with stress
2. School and study problems
3. Body image
What about bullying?
Many young people experience bullying. An Australian study showed:

Over a quarter (27%) of Year 4-9 students experienced bullying during the last term
at school – that’s one in four children or young people
Building resilience in children & young people: Parent Materials


About 1 in 10 Australian young people experience cyber-bullying every few weeks,
or more often
Hurtful teasing was the most common of all bullying behaviours experienced by
students, followed by having hurtful lies told about them
Bullying affects mental health:




Victims of bullying are four times more likely to suffer depression
Those who are both bulliers and victims are 6 times more likely to suffer from
depression and over 8 times more likely to suffer from anxiety
Many children do not tell their parents or teachers when they are bullied
Children are more likely to tell a parent than a teacher
What can schools, parents and carers do?




Parents and carers teach their children important social skills and values
Schools also have a role in teaching the skills of self-awareness, self-management,
social awareness and social management. These skills are named in the national
curriculum as important for all students
Students learn better when parents and teachers work in partnership to support
their wellbeing and learning
Support their children in understanding key concepts covered by the Building
Resilience Social and Emotional Learning lesson materials (see Building Resilience
overview brochure – hyperlink)
Useful links







Bully Stoppers:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/default.aspx
SAFEMinds:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/parents/health/Pages/mentalhealth.aspx
Kidshelpline: https://www.kidshelp.com.au
Reachout: https://www.reachout.com.au
Beyond blue https:// www.beyondblue.org.au/
Headspace https:// www.headspace.org.au/
Smilingmind https:// www.smilingmind.com.au/
For further information, references and the evidence base, please see the Building
Resilience in Children and Young People literature review (hyperlink)
Building resilience in children & young people: Parent Materials