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by Jess Gibson

Early intervention and support are critical in identifying developing mental health conditions in the first five years of a child’s life, a report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists has concluded. 

The report, , suggests that half of mental health conditions arise by the age of 14, making increased pregnancy support and early action, such as work to promote child-parent attachment, "vital".  

According to NHS data from 2019, 5.5% of two to four-year-olds experienced a mental health condition in 2017, including anxiety, behavioural disorders or difficulties, and neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD and autism – issues that the report argues were compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

According to the authors, the early years present an “important opportunity for the treatment and prevention of mental health conditions and the promotion of mental wellbeing and resilience”. However, while there are evidence-based interventions for under-fives, “only a minority […] with mental health conditions receive treatment”. 

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has made a number of recommendations aimed addressing the gaps in support identified by the report. These include building and promoting national understanding of child mental health and wellbeing; routine, government-funded data collection on babies’ and young children’s mental health and wellbeing; and the introduction of a national competencies framework and workforce training strategy.