When I was growing up in a family of four kids born in quick succession, there was plenty of angst. Sibling rivalry, frequent door slamming and claims of “it’s not fair” were standard fare.
It was tense but short-lived and no one was scarred for life (I think).
But revelations that in WA we have young kids, some aged only six or seven, suffering anxiety, depression or self-harm to the point where they – or their parents – need emergency mental health support is hugely worrying.
This is not teenage hormones in overdrive, it is children who haven’t yet hit puberty.
This month we hear how an emergency telehealth service within our child and adolescent mental health services is stepping up to meet the increased calls for help, often from parents, GPs and teachers.
… in WA we have young kids, some aged only six or seven, suffering anxiety, depression or self-harm to the point where they – or their parents – need emergency mental health support.
And Perth Children’s Hospital is enlisting the help of GPs to get a better handle on the rising rates of food allergies. But the story of five-year-old Lincoln’s near-misses with his dairy allergy shows we still need to do better.
We also look at concerns that children have been on the COVID-19 strategy backburner for too long, amid surging cases in Indonesia, including deaths in under-fives.
On a lighter note, children in the UK have been trying to use a devious way to get out of school, according to the BBC, by using soft drink to create false positives from COVID-19 lateral flow tests.
It seems their efforts have been thwarted but who said kids aren’t ingenious?