As long as I have been writing, surveys have shown that the mental health of our young people has been steadily getting worse.  But now we are learning that things really took an enormous turn for the worse during the pandemic.  As you will see below, one expert is warning that the number of kids that are dealing with mental health issues "has increased exponentially since the pandemic". 

The facts that I am about to share with you are likely to make you very angry. 

Our system does not work, and millions upon millions of young people are having their lives ruined as a result.  The following are 13 numbers that show how dramatically we have failed America's children…

#1 One recent survey found that 40 percent of U.S. parents "worry their children struggle with anxiety or depression".

#2 During the pandemic, suicide became the second leading cause of death for U.S. children between the ages of 10 and 14.

#3 Suicide is also the second leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 15 and 24.

#4 According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, 46 percent of U.S. kids between the ages of 13 and 17 have experienced cyberbullying.

#5 40 percent of U.S. high school students "felt so sad or hopeless" in 2021 that "they were unable to do their regular activities".

#6 According to the CDC, "more than 95% of children and adolescents in the U.S. spend much of their daily lives in school".

#7 At 23 schools in Baltimore, not one single student is proficient in math.

#8 At 30 schools in Illinois, not one single student can read at grade level.

#9 At 53 schools in Illinois, not one single student can do math at grade level.

#10 According to the CDC, nearly 20 percent of all adolescent female students experienced sexual violence in 2021.

#11 According to the CDC, nearly 60 percent of all adolescent female students "experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness" in 2021.

#12 According to the CDC, nearly 25 percent of all adolescent female students "made a suicide plan" in 2021.

#13 The proportion of adolescent female students that actually attempted suicide in 2021 was 60 percent higher than a decade ago.

There is nothing "normal" about these numbers.