Tore Renberg tries to poke holes in one of society’s narratives, namely the one that today’s children and young people struggle so much. It is important to stop and consider whether it is us adults who are messing it up with how we construct reality. When we settle the status, however, we do not land in quite the same place as Renberg. In the worst case, Renberg’s story can become a problem in itself, despite his wise considerations and good intentions. In any case, if the picture he draws is not complemented by some basic circumstances. The reality is that today we know much more about what really hides behind the destinies of young people who previously only got lost a little during the course of life. We know more about how many people are exposed to domestic violence or other forms of gross neglect. We know more about how many people have a demanding diagnosis. Before, there was so much you didn’t know, and probably so much you didn’t talk about. Some children had heads that somehow didn’t quite fit in, but they were often “problem children”, and it was largely their own fault. Now we call it ADHD, for example, or we recognize them as children who have experienced violence, and we know much more about what the surrounding society can and should do. We no longer collect boys who do not fit in at Bastøy. Some children and young people have always had anxiety, but now we understand it as a real problem for which they themselves are not to blame, but should be entitled to help for. This is progress. Renberg’s friend, a professional in the field of psychiatry, reacts to the fact that there are emergency numbers on public transport. It is therefore not the case that access to information about mental health is massive for children and young people. For example, a child who has the obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD has been able to go through school without even hearing about OCD. That phone number can be the most important route to help. Not to mention that there are over 9,000 suicide attempts among girls each year, and 4,000 among boys. We are happy with those phone numbers. There is eventually quite a lot of research, both nationally and internationally, which points to a close connection between the rise of social media and mental disorders. While mental health had improved steadily before that, it has taken a rather marked negative direction since 2010. Renberg does not problematize how strongly social media has changed many young people’s lives, or the likely consequences of this. Now, in any case, no one has claimed that children and young people today are worse off than during the Thirty Years’ War, when around one in five Europeans died. But it is a bit like saying to children and young people: Don’t complain about your anxiety – in the 17th century you would have died. So one can well imagine that many Norwegian children and young people are struggling more than they should have done in a country characterized by peace and prosperity. But it really only emphasizes how poorly we have succeeded in creating a good and safe upbringing for everyone, even though the conditions are so incredibly favorable. Children do not experience peace if the family is characterized by conflict, and perhaps what is worse. And when one in ten children grows up in poverty in this rich country, there are quite a few who do not experience the prosperity. It is of course possible that some children and young people who struggle moderately with more innocent teenage challenges look for a diagnosis as a kind of answer. We must of course be aware of that risk. But at the same time, we must not risk dismissing real challenges. We would rather say it this way: It is natural to struggle, not just a little, but a lot, both for many children and young people, and for many adults. And it is natural to need help. It is even natural that there are telephone numbers you can call when you are at your worst. For years we have concealed what is natural, and to a large extent let children and young people fend for themselves as best they could. ALSO READ:
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Finally we see them – Speech
