Children face ‘toxic climate’ of pressure, survey finds

Children and young people are growing up in an “unprecedented toxic climate” of stress and pressure, a new poll has found.

Fear of failure, bullying and feeling depressed were some of the issues complained of by the 2,000 youngsters aged 11 to 25 who were quizzed in a poll commissioned for national charity YoungMinds.

More than half of children and young people believed they would be a failure if they did not get good grades, half the youngsters said they had been bullied, while a third of the youngsters said they did not know where to turn to get help when they feel depressed or anxious.

More than half of 11-14-year-olds said they had seen online pornography, with 40% of these saying it had affected their relationships with others of their age.

YoungMinds campaigns director Lucie Russell said: “Every day we hear about the unprecedented toxic climate children and young people face.”