6 SECTION Children’s current mental health and wellbeing This section explores the current perceptions of children about their mental health and wellbeing, noting that the survey was conducted as children returned to face-to-face learning across Australia, and as COVID-19 mandates/ restrictions were easing. Section 6.4 discusses specific mental health concerns raised by some children and their parents/guardians and grandparents in free-text responses, including depression and anxiety, suicide and self-harm, and eating disorders. The survey suggests a general trend towards declining mental health and wellbeing. This trend is supported by other research which shows declining adolescent emotional wellbeing, particularly among girls,23 and a sustained rise in the prevalence of mental health issues for children aged 12–17, again with a greater increase for girls.24 6.1 How do children usually feel now? Section 6.1 identifies how children usually feel. Section 6.2 considers changes to children’s mental health and wellbeing since the pandemic showing that it continues to have a negative impact on children, despite the lifting of most restrictions. Section 6.3 examines how often children feel down, scared, or worried. Girls reported they were more often down, scared, or worried compared to boys. Children identifying as non-binary or other were most likely to state that they ‘very often’ felt down, scared or worried compared to the general sample. Children were asked about their feelings from a selection of options. The top three feelings chosen by 3,547 children were: 1. Happy 2. Neutral 3. Lonely It is important to note that children were also able to report on other emotions under the option of ‘something else’. While the category of ‘something else’ was the third top option, the lack of homogeneity in the ‘something else’ responses excluded it from being included in the final top three emotions currently being experienced by children. Figure 12: Children’s survey: How do you usually feel? 1685 Happy 1557 Neutral 419 Something else Lonely 402 Excited 381 357 Sad I don’t know Angry 46 | 269 211 ‘Mental health shapes my life’: COVID-19 & kids’ wellbeing • 2022 | 47