Nursery World: Is a decline in independent activity in early years causing poorer childhood mental health?

 

In the US, as in the UK, rates of anxiety and depression among school-age children are rising. 

One fifth of eight- to 25-year-olds had a probable mental disorder in 2023, according to NHS England. 

In US research, two psychologists and one anthropologist argue that while poor mental health in childhood is often blamed on increased use of digital technologies, or more pressure for high academic achievement, another cause is overlooked: a decline over decades in opportunities for children to “play, roam and engage in other activities independent of direct oversight and control by adults”....

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This article was one of a six-part series of pieces looking at research that informs early childhood development approaches.