Save the children

It may sound like an exaggeration. Our children don't need to be saved from anything, do they? However, the expression deserves closer examination and consideration.

Credits to Franz Bachinger published on Pixabay

We have a pandemic regarding the mental health of young children and adolescents. Horrifying figures on how many people say they are mentally ill and how difficult it is to get sensible help. We also see that many children and adolescents, adults too, are becoming increasingly dependent on what is happening on social media and on the mobile phones or tablets that everyone has around them all the time.

This is something that is sweeping across our planet and not just something that exists in rich countries. Everywhere where there is access to the internet, mobile platforms and social media, we see the same development. An increasingly prominent disconnection from ordinary physical life and into a digital reality that is always on and always begging for attention.

What are we doing as a society and responsible adults, one might ask? Since the number of children, adolescents and young adults who experience increased insecurity and mental challenges, it does not seem that the measures we have put in place are working. The number of children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD, autism or other psychological disorders is constantly increasing and the miracle cure seems to be medication. In other words, we are treating the symptom but are not able to find out the root cause. Or maybe we do not want to see it even if it is right in front of us. As a society, we will just continue to be stuck in old patterns without having to change anything. We cannot disrupt our accustomed behaviour or place harsh demands on pharmaceutical companies, social media providers or politicians for that matter.

Basically, we should perhaps take a look at the image in the mirror and examine ourselves. What do I do to ensure that my child or children and adolescents have the best possible upbringing and life? What are I willing to give up in order to be available when needed? Who are I trying to collaborate with to create greater pressure on politicians and society in general? Many parents and other organizations are doing everything they can to raise the issues and try to bring about change. However, it is difficult to reach through the noise that fills the information network with a mixture of important information but also a mixture of completely incorrect and irrelevant information.

If you reflect over our society for a moment and look ahead where you can see a decrease in the population, you can wonder how the equation of providing for an increasingly older population will work out. Can we then afford to let a significant part of those who are to be part of this provision be pushed out of mainstream society and of the labor market due to mental instability or stress? The answer may sound obvious, but in reality we do not seem to be doing anything to address the problem.

The biggest problem is that we are letting a large number of young people slide into a world of stress that will affect their entire lives. The same applies to adults who are already in the workforce and who are affected by exactly the same mechanisms as children and young people. We are not only sawing at the branch we are sitting on, but we have begun to saw at the tree trunk itself. Our unwillingness to take our personal responsibility as well as our unwillingness to take responsibility for how we behave leads to a dead end.

If you take a more radical view of the problem, we as individuals, groups and associations need to start by saving the children. The adults out there need to take charge of themselves at the same time as they need to pressure their employers to take responsibility for their staff and their health. Our children need support and assistance from the moment they start preschool. Assistance and support that needs to follow them all the way through their school years, all the way until they finish any university education. Research already knows what methods work and they can be usefully woven into the training of educational staff, both in university education but above all in daily operations.

The staff in our preschools, schools and colleges are already on their knees, how will they be able to absorb something new? Relevant question that creates a multitude of other questions. Are our educators doing the right things today? Is too much time spent on administrative tasks that are then not used by anyone? Do educators have to spend an enormous amount of time on dialogues with parents who have too high expectations of what attention their children will receive? Or is it connected to the fact that school owners and politicians are constantly cutting back on resources for education? Could it even be that the curriculum at different levels does not correspond to the demands that our society sets?

Everyone needs to be seen for who they are. If there is no time in schools, associations, sports clubs or other associations to actually see everyone as unique individuals, how are we going to be able to save anyone? If we as a society are serious about investing in schools and our children, we will have to change a lot of things. Schools are not budget regulators, nor are they places where the whims of individual politicians interfere with operations. Schools need to be given the resources necessary to focus on the learning of our children and young people. This is just the beginning of a long series of measures that need to be implemented in order to save our children and give them the opportunity for a balanced and meaningful life.

Several considerations about the challenge of saving our children will follow.

Be conscious

Ulf