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A new report from the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) and Mental Health Innovations (MHI) identifies key ways to better understand the mental health of children aged 13 and younger, and outlines how to improve the support they receive.

Entitled The New Childhood: Mental Health in a Connected Age, it features insights from children, captured through the , and an analysis of how this age group uses , ’s free, confidential, 24/7 text support service.  

The report found that most children aged 13 and under prefer to receive mental health support from friends and family, but NHS England estimates that up to a third of children with mental health needs use online or telephone support.  

This is consistent with analysis of Shout which shows that texters aged 13 and under have become a significant and stable share of its users over the past five years, with the vast majority returning more than once to the service for support. They are increasingly contacting Shout about topics such as suicide and self-harm.  

The report's key recommendations

• When it comes to mental health support, recognising younger children as a distinct group rather than a subset of ‘children and young people’.  
• Supporting them earlier with tools that children can and will use, particularly in schools, community settings, and carefully governed digital spaces.
• Helping adults to support children effectively. 

It tailors these for three key audiences:  

• The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England should reframe its narrative to one that is positive about children’s mental health and resilience, and it should integrate and better coordinate existing services.  
• Mental health services should deliver consistently in communities and schools and educate adults on children’s mental health.  
• Providers of digital tools should balance safeguarding with accessibility, and incorporate human interaction to avoid isolation, to develop children’s social skills, and to support children appropriately.  

Supporting the mental health of children aged 13 and under is one of the most urgent and too often overlooked challenges in health policy today. This report shows why we cannot treat younger children simply as smaller versions of adolescents or adults: their developmental needs, ways of expressing distress and routes into support are distinct. Many are already turning to digital services, including when experiencing self-harm and suicidal thoughts. We need earlier, developmentally appropriate support that is accessible, safely governed and connected to trusted adults, schools, communities and specialist care. Professor the Lord Ara Darzi Director, Institute of Global Health Innovation

The report’s lead author, Chris Ajah Agape from IGHI’s Centre for Health Policy, adds: 

“Children aged 13 and under are often overlooked in discussions of mental health support, despite this being a formative period in which emotional difficulties first emerge, and patterns of seeking help begin to take shape. Our report shows that this group is both developmentally distinct and insufficiently served by existing models of support. 
 
 “Taken together, children’s voices and the evidence show a clear need for support that better reflects their age, development and lived experience. Government, service providers and developers of digital solutions should respond to this need through the recommendations in this report.” 

Victoria Hornby OBE, chief executive of Mental Health Innovations, adds: 

“At Mental Health Innovations, we are committed to transforming how people access mental health support, using digital innovation, data and insight to help services respond earlier and more effectively. 

“This report provides valuable new insight into the needs and experiences of younger children. It reinforces the importance of listening earlier, understanding the pressures children are facing, and building support that can help before difficulties escalate. 

“Children’s mental health must be treated as an urgent priority, and we hope these findings will support a more informed, preventative approach across services, schools and wider society.”