Children in UK Face Poor Mental Health

Here on our little allotment in South Gloucestershire in the good old Dis-United Kingdom we've been discussing the latest report from the Children's Society, a charity which devotes its efforts to giving children a better childhood.
Nosher had been muttering to himself all morning, and by the time we settle into our deckchairs in the warm sunshine outside his shed he had his opinions well-prepared.
'Are these million children who are anxious and depressed the ones who roam the streets causing trouble, or the ones who stay at home glued to their computers playing moronic computer games?' he offered by way of an opening gambit.
Nosher's opinion of children was evidently not very high today.
'I'm not sure the study asked that question' I replied 'the more important issues is why they are facing mental health problems and what to do about it.'
At that point a family of starlings started quarelling in a nearby tree, making a lot of noise.
'It's supposed to be something to do with peer pressure to have the latest toys and clothes' said Nosher.
'Such pressures must always have existed' I said 'what's happened is that the more toys and clothes children have, the less they seem content with what they've got. It would appear to be about self-image, ego-security and comparing themselves with their friends.'
The starlings reacted to this with even more furious exchanges up in the nearby tree. Nosher looked at me with feigned disapproval.
'So the little blighters aren't being taught by their parents to have realistic expectations of life, or be content with what they've got and make the best of their circumstances' he asserted. 'In the old days we had far less and just got on with our lives.'
This comment produced a fresh outburst from the starling family who now sounded truly indignant, their raucous calls echoing over the entire area.
'Well, if you wish to go down your usual route' I said 'you will no doubt be saying that children today aren't taught to have any backbone and develop self-reliance and emotional resilience. I'm not sure it's just about that.'
Nosher gave me his 'you're so stupid' look.
'In the past children didn't have any choice' he declared 'except for the pampered children of the rich. If ordinary working class peoples didn't get on with life we sunk to unimaginable levels of poverty and deprivation. Complaining made no difference, so you just got on with things the best way you could. That's what's lacking in today's children, it would appear: they expect to be rewarded for complaining about their lives instead of learning constructive skills to improve things for themselves.'
'So you're saying that the children of today are being indulged when they complain and thus never learn to be satisfied with what they've got, nor do they learn to be resourceful and self-reliant?' I queried.
'And what's wrong with that view?' Nosher demanded 'if you let children grow up emotionally weak and insecure you end up with teenagers with the emotional and moral maturity of five-year-olds, and temper tantrums to match.These kids simply aren't growing up, and I blame the parents for being too indulgent.'
'The report reaches a quite different conclusion' I chided 'it says that children today are exposed to too much pressure to grow up too soon, and as a result can't cope, and suffer mental health problems.'
'Pressure to grow up too soon?' Nosher scoffed. 'The teenagers roaming the streets with all the creative disaffection of five-year-olds aren't growing up too soon - they doing their very best not to! They may think they're being grown up, but in fact they're functioning at the level of out-of-control brats because their parents haven't insisted that they do grow up!'
'You may have a point there, Nosher' was all I could say.
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