Lonely UK Children Prescribed Gardening and Fishing
A new national research project in the UK hopes to help lonely children by prescribing them activities such as gardening, fishing and going to museums.
Loneliness is a common problem for children in the UK. In 2018, a national survey found that over 11% of children aged between 10 and 15 said they often felt lonely. And for children living in cities, that figure increased to almost 20%.
The research project will look at ways lonely children can be helped by social prescribing.
Social prescribing is when health professionals recommend social activities to help improve a person's health and well-being. These activities could include things like arts, sports, gardening, volunteering or cooking classes.
Although social prescribing is becoming more common for adults in the UK, the researchers say children are less likely to get this kind of support.
The research project will work with schools to find children between the ages of 9 and 13 who are feeling lonely. These children will then be introduced to a social prescriber who can recommend an activity that suits their interests, and who will also support their continued participation in that activity.
The research team will then look at how these activities affect the children's well-being and school life over the following year. These results will also be compared with those of another group of children who are recommended activities, but not given extra support by a social prescriber.
The research team plans to start the project with 12 schools this year, and expand it to a total of 30 schools across the UK next year.
One of the lead researchers, Daisy Fancourt of University College London, said friendships and social connections are important for children's healthy development, and loneliness can lead to other mental and physical problems.
"Our program will help provide evidence on the potential benefits that social prescribing may have for children," she said.
