[AnnieK]

I'm so glad my son is starting school in 2 weeks after reading this thread

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by AnnieK

I'm so glad my son is starting school in 2 weeks after reading this thread

Another brick in the wall... jk bless him, hope he loves it

[the truth]

I couldn't tell one tedious student from another theses days, most of the graduates ive met in recent years can only be described as morons

each is phone obsessed text obsessed self obsessed , theyre a tedious homgenized egotist bunch of bores. none have any practical skills, how many can re wire anything, rebuild anything, would any know one end of a track rod end from another? how many could even change a fuse? in fact many cant even count properly? yet everyone has straight A plusses in everything, otherwise they claim they've been abused

[Kizzy]

I think with the expansion of free schools I think things will get a lot worse

[lostalex]

as a child who had way too much access to mental health services as a child, i think all the diagnosis and medication for children can do more harm than good. i feel like the mental health profession actually made my problems worse, not better. labelling a kid as diseased when they are just having problems as a kid or teenager i think is very damaging.

That being said, there are some kids who do have actual mental illness and do need serious help. i don't think the mentall health profession has found a way to really separate the kids who are just struggling from the kids who have serious psychological diseases. unfortunately, we have a system where psychologists want to diagnose everyone with something, because if you go see a psychologist and they say you are fine, it's just something you have to work through, then people don't feel like they are getting their money's worth, so they are encouraged to give everyone a a diagnosis of a disease.

Psychological and psychiatric disorders are way over diagnosed.

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by lostalex

as a child who had way too much access to mental health services as a child, i think all the diagnosis and medication for children can do more harm than good. i feel like the mental health profession actually made my problems worse, not better. labelling a kid as diseased when they are just having problems as a kid or teenager i think is very damaging.

That being said, there are some kids who do have actual mental illness and do need serious help. i don't think the mentall health profession has found a way to really separate the kids who are just struggling from the kids who have serious psychological diseases. unfortunately, we have a system where psychologists want to diagnose everyone with something, because if you go see a psychologist and they say you are fine, it's just something you have to work through, then people don't feel like they are getting their money's worth, so they are encouraged to give everyone a a diagnosis of a disease.

Psychological and psychiatric disorders are way over diagnosed.

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by lostalex

as a child who had way too much access to mental health services as a child, i think all the diagnosis and medication for children can do more harm than good. i feel like the mental health profession actually made my problems worse, not better. labelling a kid as diseased when they are just having problems as a kid or teenager i think is very damaging.

That being said, there are some kids who do have actual mental illness and do need serious help. i don't think the mentall health profession has found a way to really separate the kids who are just struggling from the kids who have serious psychological diseases. unfortunately, we have a system where psychologists want to diagnose everyone with something, because if you go see a psychologist and they say you are fine, it's just something you have to work through, then people don't feel like they are getting their money's worth, so they are encouraged to give everyone a a diagnosis of a disease.

Psychological and psychiatric disorders are way over diagnosed.

..it's actually often quite difficult and a struggle to get a diagnosis on school children here, Alex...

[lostalex]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..it's actually often quite difficult and a struggle to get a diagnosis on school children here, Alex...

i understand, but i also think there is a big push from certain parents to get a psychological diagnosis, when sometimes, it's just bad parents making the problems. the parents what to find a medical solution to something that is actually a family problem.

I love my parents, but they were bad parents. They were so busy with their careers and making a perfect home, that they never gave me any attention and i felt completely alone. so i acted out to get more attention,. but my parents thought "well we have provided everything for him, how can we be possibly to blame?" and of course when your parents are paying the bills the psychologist agree's with them.

i didn't need medication. i didn't need a diagnosis, i just needed my parents to actually spend time with me, instead of spending all of their time working and planning and setting up[ piano lessons and soccer games, and never actually talking to me, or guiding me. It's like they expected teachers and coaches to do all the guiding, when =actually it was THEIR job to guide me and teach me.

some parents don't realize that their number 1 job is to be a teacher. i just wanted my parents to teach me and i didn't know how to express that to them as a child. i didn't know how to ask them for that. i just knew that i was unhappy. and so i acted out to get more attention from them.

my parents would rather believe that i had a psychological disease and needed medication, than believe that i just wanted them to spend more time with me. it's very sad.

children are Not pets. being a parents is more than just providing a nice house, and good food, and piano lessons, and summer camp and tutors. being a parents is so much more than that. Just providing THINGS is not being a good parent.

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by lostalex

i understand, but i also think there is a big push from certain parents to get a psychological diagnosis, when sometimes, it's just bad parents making the problems. the parents what to find a medical solution to something that is actually a family problem.

I love my parents, but they were bad parents. They were so busy with their careers and making a perfect home, that they never gave me any attention and i felt completely alone. so i acted out to get more attention,. but my parents thought "well we have provided everything for him, how can we be possibly to blame?" and of course when your parents are paying the bills the psychologist agree's with them.

i didn't need medication. i didn't need a diagnosis, i just needed my parents to actually spend time with me, instead of spending all of their time working and planning and setting up[ piano lessons and soccer games, and never actually talking to me, or guiding me. It's like they expected teachers and coaches to do all the guiding, when =actually it was THEIR job to guide me and teach me.

some parents don't realize that their number 1 job is to be a teacher. i just wanted my parents to teach me and i didn't know how to express that to them as a child. i didn't know how to ask them for that. i just knew that i was unhappy. and so i acted out to get more attention from them.

my parents would rather believe that i had a psychological disease and needed medication, than believe that i just wanted them to spend more time with me. it's very sad.

children are Not pets. being a parents is more than just providing a nice house, and good food, and piano lessons, and summer camp and tutors. being a parents is so much more than that. Just providing THINGS is not being a good parent.

..yeah, I do see ..I'm sure that your parents actions were always out of love and the belief that they were doing a great job but it's funny how, what is given is not always what is received and sometimes the very opposite thing, really...they wanted you in their life/to make you happy but they wanted other things as well, which made them happy and filled their lives and somehow, it didn't all fit and then it's always going to be the child who feels it most...maybe they set up all of these things, like piano lessons etc because those were suggestions to them...why don't you try/I think this may be good for him..?.../type thing so feeling as lost as you were in a way as well..and so they would just flounder in their confusion as well ...and not able to see it so give you the guidance that you needed and with that guidance, make you believe in yourself....just really sad for all of you, I can see that..if only there was a handbook and if only there was hindsight but there when you need it to be there...beforesight.../at the right time sight....

[rubymoo]

The problem is that children here are too molly coddled, parents are afraid to let them out to play for fear of abduction, children don't want to go out because of all their technology, health and safety has gone crazy so children can't even play proper games on the playground (we are a fearful nation, we live in a suing society), throw into the mix that if such and such has an iphone then they need an iphone, the bullying that is rife in schools and on social media, a lot of children seem to have a poor me attitude - these children i've found usually have no parents at home when they get home from school, so these children just need attention. When a child doesn't have all the lastest stuff they become outcasts, throw into the mix the junk food that they're eating with all the additives, preservatives, sugar, fat and salt content and parents who in some families both of them have to work, and school/nursery starting so early for our children compared to the rest of the world, it's no wonder they are unhappy, in other countries like Africa that Ammi has mentioned, the children are happier because they are all the same, they are as poor as each other, they have experienced the same as each other so are thankful and grateful for their lives, there is no health and safety preventing them from doing things, if they want to climb a tree or play conkers (probably don't have conkers!) but they can, they don't have adults preventing them from exploring their surroundings, they have freedom, they don't have social media so there's no bullying or bragging, the meals they eat are wholesome, fresh and adequate (i know that Africa is a very poor country and a lot of children are malnourished, i'm talking about the children in the areas that are happier, as in the OP), you can bet that these children have no access to McDonalds or Burger King, and in some countries children have a part to play in their families, maybe helping with cooking, farming, looking after siblings etc yet these children are happier, i think happiness comes from being valued and being valid, adults need to understand that children need guidance, support, love, freedom, boundaries, structure, and to feel that they matter, i think we need to get back to basics, but it'll never happen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7234578.stm

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by rubymoo

The problem is that children here are too molly coddled, parents are afraid to let them out to play for fear of abduction, children don't want to go out because of all their technology, health and safety has gone crazy so children can't even play proper games on the playground, throw into the mix that if such and such has an iphone then they need an iphone, the bullying that is rife in schools and on social media, a lot of children seem to have a poor me attitude - these children i've found usually have no parents at home when they get home from school, so these children just need attention. When a child doesn't have all the lastest stuff they become outcasts, throw into the mix the junk food that they're eating with all the additives, preservatives, sugar, fat and salt content and parents who in some families both of them have to work, and school/nursery starting so early for our children compared to the rest of the world, it's no wonder they are unhappy, in other countries like Africa that Ammi has mentioned, the children are happier because they are all the same, they are as poor as each other, they have experienced the same as each other so are thankful and grateful for their lives, there is no health and safety preventing them from doing things, if they want to climb a tree or play conkers (probably don't have conkers!) but they can, they don't have adults preventing them from exploring their surroundings, they have freedom, they don't have social media so there's no bullying or bragging, the meals they eat are wholesome, fresh and adequate (i know that Africa is a very poor country and a lot of children are malnourished, i'm talking about the children in the areas that are happier, as in the OP), you can bet that these children have no access to McDonalds or Burger King, and in some countries children have a part to play in their families, maybe helping with cooking, farming, looking after siblings etc yet these children are happier, i think happiness comes from being valued and being valid, adults need to understand that children need guidance, support, love, freedom, boundaries, structure, and to feel that they matter, i think we need to get back to basics, but it'll never happen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7234578.stm

..see, in our school and all local primary schools, children are not allowed things like phones/mobiles and not allowed logos on clothes and for things like schools visits..?...they're not allowed spending money so none will feel 'excluded' in any way and that's the foundation they are given, but these things are more in High Schools and it's a whole environment thing and always was/I don't think it's really changed in that ...there is just more stuff available and more affordable now but isn't that a positive..?../it's not seeing things necessarily as a negative ...

..and I don't think that's it with the children I have met either/the African dance group, that it's because 'none have more'...?..I have spent time talking to some as we always have some stay with us and it really is about their positivity as well, they've had their dark times, horrendously dark times but their positivity comes from their music and their dance/that's how they've 'healed' because they focus on that and not on those dark times...

..with childcare and parents not being at home at the end of the school day, etc..?..well there again, my parents weren't always home when school ended but it didn't matter because it was no indication to how secure and safe I always felt and how loved I felt because they gave all of those feeling to me ...and now we have breakfast clubs/after school clubs etc...so, so many children thrive in those, it's a great environment for them and gives so much social experience..it's not so structured as school obviously, so it gives them something completely different and their friendships expand there...all after school clubs that we run are always over subscribed so many children really do enjoy an 'extension' to their school day ...and being 'valued' etc..?..that's the whole ethos of most primary schools..that 'every child matters'....and encouraged in things that they're interested in or particularly feel they're good at....

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..see, in our school and all local primary schools, children are not allowed things like phones/mobiles and not allowed logos on clothes and for things like schools visits..?...they're not allowed spending money so none will feel 'excluded' in any way and that's the foundation they are given, but these things are more in High Schools and it's a whole environment thing and always was/I don't think it's really changed in that ...there is just more stuff available and more affordable now but isn't that a positive..?../it's not seeing things necessarily as a negative ...

Children brag, though. Just because they aren't bringing their belongings to school, doesn't mean they aren't telling everyone about the things they've got at home, or the trips they've been on, or the new car their parents have, etc.

Now, that shouldn't really be a problem. Most are probably just excited and want to tell people, they're not trying to make anyone feel bad, it SHOULDN'T make anyone feel bad, people should be able to just be happy for their friends. However, as mentioned earlier, in a nation where "success" is measured by which job you have, how much money you have in the bank, what car you drive and where you went on holiday... there are all sorts of other issues tied up in this materialistic nonsense. The purpose and aim of the school system is completely involved in that lifestyle; kids are packed off to school at 4 / 5 years old for two reasons only.

1) So that their parents can get back into the workplace.

2) To start preparing the kids themselves for the workplace as early as possible.

Methods and standards of care vary across the board, but no matter how "nice" anyone is about it, that's the basics of what's going on. That's the system.

..and I don't think that's it with the children I have met either/the African dance group, that it's because 'none have more'...?..I have spent time talking to some as we always have some stay with us and it really is about their positivity as well, they've had their dark times, horrendously dark times but their positivity comes from their music and their dance/that's how they've 'healed' because they focus on that and not on those dark times...

I think you're right in that it's more about their positivity but the question is, where does that positivity come from? Is it just being glad to be alive, is it just because they have sych horrors in their past to compare it to so they know that life is now so much better? Or is it partly cultural? I would imagine it is. The question, then, being: If these kids manage to be happy becuase they have a positive mindset and outlook on life... then what has gone so wrong here to make it so that children - whilst on the surface not having any of those horrors to contend with - have such a negative mindset?

The answer in my opinion is again, all down to how we define success in our culture. And how completely shallow, materialistic and empty it actually is when you really take a look at it. I wonder if kids maybe instinctually feel this. The mounting pressure to enter a rat-race that is for the vast majority of people, ultimately unfulfilling. And also, yes, as Rubymoo says, there is an element of freedom and responsibility that is completely denied to so many children here. To play outdoors without parents fretting about paedophiles, to climb a tree without being berated for it because they "might fall", to just be allowed to live and explore. Bad things happen, but people are paranoid, and they stifle their children because of that. People in cages are never going to be happy.

..with childcare and parents not being at home at the end of the school day, etc..?..well there again, my parents weren't always home when school ended but it didn't matter because it was no indication to how secure and safe I always felt and how loved I felt because they gave all of those feeling to me ...and now we have breakfast clubs/after school clubs etc...so, so many children thrive in those, it's a great environment for them and gives so much social experience..it's not so structured as school obviously, so it gives them something completely different and their friendships expand there...all after school clubs that we run are always over subscribed so many children really do enjoy an 'extension' to their school day

I understand that this is true as I know there are a lot of kids at my daughter's school who love going to after school club, but I have to add, this sort of goes in with what I was saying above. Kids love this after-school socialisation, even though it is completely supervised, and that's because they don't have adequate socialisation with their peers outside of school otherwise. Their aren't kids in their local area, or if there are, they aren't allowed out to spend time with them, because roads / paedophiles / bears and what not. Clubs and supervised play are better than nothing but they don't compare to the freedom to just be out, with friends, exploring, and really getting to know each other, outside of an organised environment.

...and being 'valued' etc..?..that's the whole ethos of most primary schools..that 'every child matters'....and encouraged in things that they're interested in or particularly feel they're good at....

As for this, I know this is the official line Ammi and I know that you really believe in it, but I have to be totally frank and say... it's close to worthless. It's false. Prescribed, curriculum-mandated "value" that really does at the end of the day just feel quite hollow... it's not the same as being truly respected, given responsibility and valued within a family or community. I guess I wouldn't even really call it "being valued"... "Every child matters because there's an official school pamphlet that says Every Child Matters in it so they must! Quick, find something that little Timmy is vaguely OK at and tell him he's awesome. Tomorrow it's Suzie. I'll print a certificate."

As a nation we treat children as inferior and inconvenient. Embryos that we have to push along into adulthood so that they can become "real people", and then we can give them freedom and respect, rather than appreciating that they already have lives and they need more room to live those lives.

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Children brag, though. Just because they aren't bringing their belongings to school, doesn't mean they aren't telling everyone about the things they've got at home, or the trips they've been on, or the new car their parents have, etc.

Now, that shouldn't really be a problem. Most are probably just excited and want to tell people, they're not trying to make anyone feel bad, it SHOULDN'T make anyone feel bad, people should be able to just be happy for their friends. However, as mentioned earlier, in a nation where "success" is measured by which job you have, how much money you have in the bank, what car you drive and where you went on holiday... there are all sorts of other issues tied up in this materialistic nonsense. The purpose and aim of the school system is completely involved in that lifestyle; kids are packed off to school at 4 / 5 years old for two reasons only.

1) So that their parents can get back into the workplace.

2) To start preparing the kids themselves for the workplace as early as possible.

Methods and standards of care vary across the board, but no matter how "nice" anyone is about it, that's the basics of what's going on. That's the system.




I think you're right in that it's more about their positivity but the question is, where does that positivity come from? Is it just being glad to be alive, is it just because they have sych horrors in their past to compare it to so they know that life is now so much better? Or is it partly cultural? I would imagine it is. The question, then, being: If these kids manage to be happy becuase they have a positive mindset and outlook on life... then what has gone so wrong here to make it so that children - whilst on the surface not having any of those horrors to contend with - have such a negative mindset?

The answer in my opinion is again, all down to how we define success in our culture. And how completely shallow, materialistic and empty it actually is when you really take a look at it. I wonder if kids maybe instinctually feel this. The mounting pressure to enter a rat-race that is for the vast majority of people, ultimately unfulfilling. And also, yes, as Rubymoo says, there is an element of freedom and responsibility that is completely denied to so many children here. To play outdoors without parents fretting about paedophiles, to climb a tree without being berated for it because they "might fall", to just be allowed to live and explore. Bad things happen, but people are paranoid, and they stifle their children because of that. People in cages are never going to be happy.




I understand that this is true as I know there are a lot of kids at my daughter's school who love going to after school club, but I have to add, this sort of goes in with what I was saying above. Kids love this after-school socialisation, even though it is completely supervised, and that's because they don't have adequate socialisation with their peers outside of school otherwise. Their aren't kids in their local area, or if there are, they aren't allowed out to spend time with them, because roads / paedophiles / bears and what not. Clubs and supervised play are better than nothing but they don't compare to the freedom to just be out, with friends, exploring, and really getting to know each other, outside of an organised environment.



As for this, I know this is the official line Ammi and I know that you really believe in it, but I have to be totally frank and say... it's close to worthless. It's false. Prescribed, curriculum-mandated "value" that really does at the end of the day just feel quite hollow... it's not the same as being truly respected, given responsibility and valued within a family or community. I guess I wouldn't even really call it "being valued"... "Every child matters because there's an official school pamphlet that says Every Child Matters in it so they must! Quick, find something that little Timmy is vaguely OK at and tell him he's awesome. Tomorrow it's Suzie. I'll print a certificate."

As a nation we treat children as inferior and inconvenient. Embryos that we have to push along into adulthood so that they can become "real people", and then we can give them freedom and respect, rather than appreciating that they already have lives and they need more room to live those lives.

..see, I'm not even going to comment on any of this..(mainly actually just because I can't atm/I'm all typed out..)...but I really do wish that you could spend more time in schools/our school/any school I have visited because athough, like in everything, there is always improvements to be made..(which is why other schools are always visited as well to look at their particular success..)...this is not 'in theory' TS and 'just something to be said'...children are most definitely not taught to be drones but very much encouraged to be themselves and have belief in themselves, whatever their abilities academically... but primary schools cannot do that alone, they can only be part of it with parents and the positivity has to come from them as well....

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Ammi

children are most definitely not taught to be drones but very much encouraged to be themselves and have belief in themselves, whatever their abilities academically...

What you mean is that their strengths are identified and focussed on so that they can eventually go into a job / career that focusses on that strength and therefore be a more efficient cog in the machine. It is intrinsically the purpose of curriculum based education... there's no way around that.

If I am wrong, if it is not what schools are trying to do, then the only alternative is that schools are failing miserably in whatever it is they ARE trying to do, because we live in a nation of drones.

[James]

Another view.

England not named world’s second worst nation for child happiness

“England named ‘second worst nation’ for child happiness” - Independent, 19 August 2015. Other outlets, such as the BBC, Independent, Guardian, Mail and Times, reported pupils in England were “among” the most unhappy in the world. The Telegraph made a more restricted claim, that “England’s pupils were ‘unhappier than children in Ethiopia but happier than the Germans’”. These claims all refer to a survey of 10 and 12 year olds in 15 countries, conducted by The Children’s Society and the University of York.

The countries were selected in order to provide a diverse view of children’s well-being in different types of countries. Countries were classified according to a system developed by academics which takes into account different welfare systems. So it tells us how England compares to particular countries deemed different to it, but not how it compares to every other country in the world.

Compared to the 14 other countries in the survey, England’s children were some of the least happy on specific aspects such as their relationship with teachers and self-confidence. On other aspects, such as other people in their family, the local police in their area, and their friends, they ranked between the middle and top out of the 15 countries.

The Independent comments that the research refers to 15 countries in the body of its article. Taken alone though, its headline could be interpreted as meaning England was second worst in the world.

The report doesn’t tell us English pupils were the second most unhappy in the world

The countries selected to take part in the survey were picked in order to study children’s well-being “within different contexts” and so to provide “as diverse a range of countries across as many continents as possible”.

It did this based on a system of classifying countries according to their social welfare, developed by academics. For example, England was picked as a “liberal country”, Germany a “conservative country”, and South Korea an “Asian, productivist welfare state”.

The report tells us how England compares to these other 14 countries, but it doesn’t tell us how England compares to other similar countries (which weren’t included in the research). If we assume that children in similar countries have similar levels of happiness, we can say that England’s pupils were among the most unhappy in the world on certain indicators. But we can’t say that England was the second worst country globally on these indicators.

We can say English children had relatively low satisfaction in terms of relationships with teachers

As widely reported, English pupils were the most likely to have experienced being left out by their classmates in the past month. Though for the children that did experience this, they experienced it less frequently per month than was the case in other countries. They also ranked in the middle of the 15 countries for being hit by another child.

The report notes that just comparing countries’ mean scores for each question has its limitations. For example, children may (due to their culture or language) have a tendency to respond less positively about their well-being in some countries compared to others. So it also identified areas where the happiness of English pupils was particularly high or low compared to their happiness across the survey topics as a whole.

On this basis, children in England were most satisfied with relationships with family members who they didn’t live with, money and possessions, friendships, and local police.

What they were relatively unsatisfied with was relationships with their teachers, their body, the way they look, and their self-confidence.

Pupils’ school experience wasn’t always the worst performing in the rankings: England also came 10th out of 15 for pupils’ opinions on their “life as a student”.

Other pupil surveys suggest English children are happier than average

In 2012, 84% of 15 year olds reported they were happy at school in the OECD’s international PISA survey, compared to an average of 80% in the 34 OECD member countries looked at. This asked more of an overview question about happiness and satisfaction at school rather than the specific aspects asked about in The Children’s Society survey.

https://fullfact.org/factcheck/educa...appiness-47334

I'm not sure how much you can trust polls which ask people, basically, 'How do you feel?'

[Niamh.]

I'd like to know where Ireland is on that list, I would say I'm pretty happy in general with my kids schools

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

I'd like to know where Ireland is on that list, I would say I'm pretty happy in general with my kids schools

I would say that the Ireland in general is quite culturally different, more laid-back, kids are allowed to be more free, and also there's a much stronger focus on family.

That might just be me furthering racial stereotypes, though .

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

I would say that the Ireland in general is quite culturally different, more laid-back, kids are allowed to be more free, and also there's a much stronger focus on family.

That might just be me furthering racial stereotypes, though .

No you're not wrong, certainly in my area anyway there's a lot of community spirit which is carried on through the school. It's a small-ish village where I live and most of the kids would also do after school activities together etc and there's also alot of parent involvement in both the schools and those activities (sports teams, Scouts etc) It's probably a bit different in the city schools

The only thing that I'm unhappy about is the the fact that 90 something percent of all "state" schools in Ireland are still catholic run and that certainly needs to change

[bots]

School was never a happy place to be, not even in my day. The majority of children would always prefer to be doing something else than going to school or school work. That's been a pretty normal state of affairs throughout history. Of course the environment will change from area to area, but fundamentally, children are there to learn, and that's not normally all that enjoyable in a class room (although it can be).

Bullying on the other hand has no place in schools, and is something that can and should be wiped out, no debate necessary.

[Kizzy]

I didn't have that experience with my son, I moved him on the advice of parent liason from one school to a catholic primary .Things just got worse he was ignored and bullied, his yr5 teacher was forced to apologies to him for calling him a 'baby' due to his handwriting after he admitted this was the reason he wanted to kill himself...
He started high school with the magic level 4 in his SATS, he told his English teacher at high school his SENCO at his last school wrote all his work for him, when he was retested he was a 2C.
So all schools are not cocoons of educational nurturing, I've spoken to lots of parents who have had similar experiences, therefore the 'whatever their ability' part of that was definitely lacking in the schools we've had dealings with.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

I didn't have that experience with my son, I moved him on the advice of parent liason from one school to a catholic primary .Things just got worse he was ignored and bullied, his yr5 teacher was forced to apologies to him for calling him a 'baby' due to his handwriting after he admitted this was the reason he wanted to kill himself...
He started high school with the magic level 4 in his SATS, he told his English teacher at high school his SENCO at his last school wrote all his work for him, when he was retested he was a 2C.
So all schools are not cocoons of educational nurturing, I've spoken to lots of parents who have had similar experiences, therefore the 'whatever their ability' part of that was definitely lacking in the schools we've had dealings with.

omg that's shocking Kizzy

[Nedusa]

ADHD, Tourettes,ODD, OCD, Autism, Aspergers, Dyslexia are just a few of the disorders that seem to have exploded in numbers among adolescents.

Is it any wonder most are unhappy or depressed if they have to put up with any of the above.

In fact is it not strange just how many youngsters now seem to be afflicted by these disorders to one degree or another.Maybe there is more pollution in the air than we know or the food we buy now is not as healthy as we may think.

Either way I don't remember hardly any children in my youth being affected by all these disorders.

Food for thought ??

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

ADHD, Tourettes,ODD, OCD, Autism, Aspergers, Dyslexia are just a few of the disorders that seem to have exploded in numbers among adolescents.

Is it any wonder most are unhappy or depressed if they have to put up with any of the above.

In fact is it not strange just how many youngsters now seem to be afflicted by these disorders to one degree or another.Maybe there is more pollution in the air than we know or the food we buy now is not as healthy as we may think.

Either way I don't remember hardly any children in my youth being affected by all these disorders.

Food for thought ??

Most of those conditions only got a name in recent years though so maybe the kids that may have had those conditions years ago were just written off as troublesome or stupid

[Ammi]

..there was a time back in the day Nedusa when females were sent to asylums to spend their days because they suffered from PMT/Post Natal Depression etc ...it just was thought to be 'madness' instead but these things have always existed...

[Nedusa]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..there was a time back in the day Nedusa when females were sent to asylums to spend their days because they suffered from PMT/Post Natal Depression etc ...it just was thought to be 'madness' instead but these things have always existed...

I take your point that a lot of these disorders were not known about or identified but still there does seem almost like an explosion of these disorders in recent years affecting younger people mainly.

Not sure why perhaps it does have something to do with the lack of resistance to dirt,germs etc perhaps this ties in with the rise in childhood allergies from nuts to pollen etc

Either way children now have a dizzying array of ailments and disorders to choose from. I certainly think this adds to the general level of unhappiness felt by this current generation.