[andyjohnson0]

> Children have no problems with happiness or well-being.

This seems rather naive to me. Unhappiness is far from absent from the lives of many children and young people, and social media is making it worse. See yesterday's yougov survey results that indicate that "18% of young people in UK do not think life is worth living" [1].

This new curriculum subject is about helping children to understand and navigate their own feelings and deal with stresses so that they are less likely to turn into messed-up teenagers and adults. As a parent of school-age children I think this is an entirely good thing.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/05/youth-unhapp...

[baybal2]

I spent most of my early childhood in a grimiest, gloomiest, dying city on Russian/Chinese border. From the age of 12 or so, I lived with one goal - get out of there. I had no time for stupid psychologising, nor could've imagined anybody living in glitzy cities of the West to be so dumb to waste time on that.

There were times I almost worshipped that imaginary version of Western culture I had with it being all about action, forward movement and unending progress. Once I finally got myself out of Russia, I was up for a big, big surprise... West had idleness as its second nature...

[andyjohnson0]

> West had idleness as its second nature...

I'm sorry that you had to deal with those things as a child, but I'm not sure what you're saying here. That children in the west are soft due to insufficient adversity?

Mental health is not something that's "so dumb to waste time on". Maybe you are tough enough to take what life throws at you, or maybe you just think you are. But I've been around long enough to know that people can be broken-down by events in even an ordinary life - and children need kindness and support just as much as they need challenge and the opportunity to learn from mistakes.

If I've misunderstood then please feel free to explain more.

[baybal2]

Purposeful pursuit of idle life should not be thought as a virtue. Not for young men in their prime, without a family.

I admit, I am a bit envious of other men of my age who managed to get that "settled down slow life" with happy family, but even at that stage in life, that "idleness" only comes as a great reward for years of work, and raising a child is a no joke effort.