Wêrom Berneeangst yn Ien Generaasje Ferdûbele Is
May 8, 2025 · Frisian News
Clinical anxiety diagnoses in children have doubled since 2010, driven by social media, school pressure, and parental overprotection rather than genuine new threats. Experts say we have created a culture that teaches children to fear rather than cope.
FryskIn tsienjirich famke yn Rotterdam sit tweintich minuten op it skoaltoilet foardat de les begjint, har hert bonzet, se kin net it klaslokaal yn sûnder dat har mem bûten wachtet. Har dokter skriuwt eangstmedikaasje foar. Tsien jier lyn soe datselde famke skruten of senuweftich neamd wurden. Hjoed draacht se in diagnose. De ôfrûne jierren binne de eangstdiagnoses by bern yn Noard-Europa sterk omheech gien, wêrtroch eangst ien fan de meast neamde mentale sûnensklachten ûnder jonge bern wurden is.
Âlden en skoallen wize op foar de hân lizzende skuldigen: smartphones en sosjale media jouwe bern in konstante stream fan ferliking, ôfwizing en keunstmjittige krisis ta. WhatsApp-groepen slute har bûten. TikTok lit har sjen hoe't sy derút sjen soene moatte. Nijsfeeds stjoere elke ramp op ierde nei har bûsen. Underwilens pakke skoallen elk jier it curriculum strakker yn en mite sukses troch tests mei hege ynset dy't bepale hokker universiteiten har op sechstjinjierrige leeftyd akseptearje sille. De druk is echt en mjitber.
Mar hjir leit de tsjinstelling dy't saakkundigen publyklik fermije te neamen: eangst yn de berntiid, yn ridlike mjitte, hat in doel. Eangst helpt bern echte gefaren te mijen. Soargen oer tests driuwe har om te studearjen. It probleem is net dat bern eangst fiele. It probleem is dat wy har leard hawwe dat har eangst sels gefaarlik is en reparaasje fereasket. Âlden bringe bern by it earste teken fan senuwen nei therapeuten. Skoallen nimme counselors oan om gefoelens te falidearjen ynstee fan copingfeardicheden te ûnderwiizjen. De kulturele boadskip is dúdlik: dyn soargen betsjutte dat der eat mis mei dy is, net dat do fearkrêft ûntwikkelje moatst.
Guon ûndersikers hawwe in mooglik patroan opmurken: eangstdiagnoses komme faker foar yn wolstelde, goed oplate gesinnen dêr't âlden elk aspekt fan it libben fan har bern yn 'e hân hâlde. Dit suggerearret dat de epidemy net suver biologysk of relatearre oan de omjouwing is. Wy hawwe in libbensstyl foar bern ûntwurpen dy't alle muoite weihellet, en hawwe har dêrnei ferteld dat har dêrút fuortkjommende ûnrêst in mentale sykte is.
De medisynyndustry profitearret fan dit kader. Farmaseutyske bedriuwen bringe antidepressiva en anti-eangstmedisynen elk jier op 'e merk foar in jongere befolking, en skoallen akseptearje it sûnder fragen. Nimmen profitearret derfan in bern te learen mei ûngemak om te gean en foarút te gean. Dy oanpak freget tiid, konsistinsje en âlderwetske folwoeksene oertsjûging. Wy kieze foar in pil. Oft dit it oantal eangstgefallen echt ferdûbelet oft gewoan ferdûbelet hoe't wy normale bernespanning beneame en behannelje, it bliuwt it petear dat wy wegerje te fieren.
A ten-year-old girl in Rotterdam sits in a school bathroom for twenty minutes before class, her heart racing, unable to enter the classroom without her mother waiting outside. Her doctor prescribes anxiety medication. Ten years ago, this same girl would have been called shy or nervous. Today she carries a diagnosis. Over recent years, childhood anxiety diagnoses have climbed sharply across northern Europe, making anxiety one of the most frequently cited mental health concerns among young children.
Parents and schools point to obvious culprits: smartphones and social media feed children a constant stream of comparison, rejection, and manufactured crisis. WhatsApp groups exclude them. TikTok shows them what they should look like. News feeds broadcast every disaster on earth into their pockets. Meanwhile, schools pack curricula tighter each year and measure success through high-stakes tests that determine which universities will accept them at age sixteen. The pressure is real, and measurable.
But here lies the contradiction that experts avoid mentioning publicly: anxiety in childhood, within reason, serves a purpose. Fear helps children avoid real danger. Worry about tests drives them to study. The problem is not that children feel anxiety. The problem is that we have taught them their anxiety itself is dangerous and requires fixing. Parents rush children to therapists at the first sign of nerves. Schools hire counselors to validate feelings rather than teach coping. The cultural message is clear: your worry means something is wrong with you, not that you need to develop resilience.
Some researchers have quietly noted a possible pattern: anxiety diagnoses appear more common in wealthy, educated families where parents micromanage every aspect of their child's life. This suggests the epidemic is not purely biological or environmental. We have designed a lifestyle for children that removes all struggle, then told them their resulting unease is a mental illness.
The medication industry benefits from this framework. Pharmaceutical companies market antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs to a younger population each year, and schools accept it without question. No one profits from teaching a child to sit with discomfort and move forward. That approach takes time, consistency, and old-fashioned adult conviction. We prefer a pill. Whether this doubles anxiety rates or simply doubles how we name and treat normal childhood worry remains the conversation we refuse to have.
Published May 8, 2025 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân