A survey of UK parents by Savanta ComRes, commissioned by the King's Maudsley Partnership for Children and Young People's Mental Health, reported that one in three (34%) parents say they think the rising cost of living could affect the mental health of their children a great deal, while seven in 10 parents (72%) say it could affect it at least a little over the coming months.
The Savanta ComRes poll, which surveyed 2,150 UK parents of children between 5 and 17 years old, between 23-29 September - after the Chancellor's mini Budget - also found a third of parents (33%) feel their child is currently experiencing mental health difficulties. This rises with the age of children to 43% of parents with children aged 16-17.
Amongst these children, parents thought the most common symptom or behaviour parents have noticed is anxiety (68%), which is cited by nearly twice as many parents as the next most common response - which is noticing depression or low mood episodes in their children (37%).
The survey also found that three-quarters of parents (75%) think government funding for children's mental health services should be increased.
A significant three-quarters of parents (77%) say they would consider paying for private healthcare services if their children were experiencing mental health difficulties. Only 3% say they definitely would not.
In some encouraging news, amongst those surveyed, the vast majority of parents (86%) say they feel able to support their children if they are experiencing mental health difficulties. Of those who say their children are currently experiencing mental health difficulties, the majority (56%) have successfully accessed professional help for their child's mental health. A further 3 in 10 (30%) say they didn't successfully access professional help but tried to.
