Children as young as seven were already expressing suicidal ideation, and three-year-olds were presenting with behavioural anxiety, which should set off alarm bells for Malta’s decision-makers to act, former President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca has urged.

Quoting in-depth reports from The Malta Trust Foundation and The Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society through their projects with children, Coleiro Preca made an urgent appeal for authorities to look down and open their eyes to children’s mental health.

In a meeting with Mental Health Commissioner Denis Vella Baldacchino on the eve of World Mental Health Day, Coleiro Preca called on policymakers to put resources behind measures that will protect children’s mental health to avoid a troubling future for many adults and the Maltese society at large.

She referred to reports from an activity conducted by The Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society with children from early years – based on the book the Hole in the Cloud by Professor Paulanne Grech — which brought to the fore the anxiety and worry of very young children; worries about separation from parents and loved ones, their pets, and sickness.

“All this, was resulting in behavioural challenges. Even more worrying, are the findings from the Blossom Project, led by The Malta Trust Foundation, where some children aged seven to nine actually give thought to taking their own life at a time when they should be lost in a carefree world of love, security and laughter,” Coleiro Preca said.

“Children’s early years are crucial to identify who has a disposition to develop more serious issues when they grow up and unless there is early intervention these will resurface even more amplified in adulthood,” she added.

Vella Baldacchino and Coleiro Preca met together with project coordinators, ahead of the international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma and discussed the findings emerging from the work carried out by The Malta Trust Foundation and the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society.

Vella Baldacchino said: “I share the same concerns of an increase in issues and problems in relation to mental health, even in children of such a tender age. It’s not time for talking but time for action.”

The former president said the data from its Blossom Project – offering counselling services in eight schools to empower children and bolster them with the skills to face life’s challenges through psycho-social support – was bringing to the fore the extent of the challenges young children were battling,

She also referred to the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society’s Promote Online Protection Project – P.O.P-Up, carried out among children in Years 3 to 11 between May and June 2023, which exposed the online abuse Maltese students were facing and the consequent effects this was having on their mental wellbeing,

“Wherever you look the data emerging about our future generations is leading to immense cause for concern that requires an urgent multi-dimensional approach. We ignore this at our peril,” Coleiro Preca warned.