National, June 2024 - Nurturing Souls, a dedicated platform for conscious parenting that enhances children's mental health and well-being has revealed significant findings from its recent study. Based on comprehensive coaching sessions with over 1000 parents, the study highlights a concerning trend: in nearly 50% of cases, parents are found to be the primary contributors to their children's mental health and stress challenges. Other stakeholders such as teachers, extended family, and friends contribute to another 30-40% of these issues, with social media further exacerbating the problem through constant comparisons.

The study provides a detailed breakdown of the various stressors affecting children today. Among the most prevalent issues are social media addiction affecting 60% of children, bullying impacting 30%, and the pressures to use drugs (4%) and drink alcohol (6%).

On the other hand, anxiety is reported in 50% of cases, while 40% of children struggle with a lack of concentration.

Other significant pressures include the need to look good (29%), to fit in socially (28%), Alarmingly, academic pressures related to studies, examinations, and results are a major source of anxiety for 81% of school-going children, severely affecting their performance.

“Data also suggests that an estimated 31.9% of students suffer from some form of anxiety disorder, and poor sleep quality affects 50% of children. Additionally, 4.7% of a certain age group reported using drugs at least once in 2018, with mood swings and gender/sexual issues affecting 43% and 10% of children respectively. Twenty percent of children struggle to manage failure” says Mr Nikhil Gupta, Conscious Parenting Coach & Founder of Nurturing Souls

The study's methodology involved data collection from parents coached by the Nurturing Souls team, alongside data from a company working with students across various age groups on mental health and well-being. Supplementary data was sourced from reputable studies and reports, including those by the American Psychological Association, UCLA Health, Pew Research Center, NCERT, and the World Drug Report 2020.

The demographic of the study participants predominantly included parents from Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, educated, and with children aged between 8 and 20 years. The study also encompassed feedback from almost 2000 students.

Several key factors link parental behavior to children's mental health issues. These include parents' inability to refrain from living their aspirations through their children, the imposition of unrealistic expectations, the impact of parental relationships, and the undue stress placed on education taken as a return on investment. Other detrimental behaviors identified include continuous overdosing on guidance, hypocrisy in actions, unrealistic expectations of success, and an over-reliance on rewards and punishments which drive children to act based on consequences rather than basic understanding of the action. Comparison with others also emerged as a significant stressor.

“We were particularly struck by the high incidence of children talking about depression, suicidal thoughts, and feelings of worthlessness. These findings underscore the urgent need for parents to become more aware and proactive in nurturing their children's mental health,” Mr Gupta added.

Nurturing Souls continues to advocate for better awareness and education for parents to help mitigate these issues. The team remains committed to providing support and resources to ensure a healthier, more balanced & integrated approach to child-rearing that leads to much better mental well-being.

About Nurturing Souls-

Nurturing Souls is the manifestation of the profound dedication and love of Nikhil and Rashmi Gupta, alongside Sharmila Jain, established in 2017.  This initiative was born out of their journey as parents to a teenage boy, who during his early school years, inspired them to delve into conscious, mindful parenting. Despite their extensive corporate careers, their passion for raising a wise, joyful, and integrated young man led them to study the teachings of J. Krishnamurti and incorporate these philosophies into their coaching practices. Over the past decade, they have guided numerous parents through the complexities of parenting, addressing various issues that parents face while raising their children like behavioral issues, relationship dynamics and Academic challenges.