Canadians are concerned that young people aged 10 to 21 lack the important life skills and coping mechanisms needed to be successful in the future, a Scouts Canada survey found.
A combined total of 91.2 percent of Canadians said they are concerned about kids aged 10-21 having no soft skills. Soft skills are the behavioural and interpersonal skills that are crucial for success in virtually every occupation.
Because of that 34.3 percent of those surveyed said they were not confident that today's youth will be able to get jobs in the future or become successful adults.
Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z parents have been "too soft" on their kids, causing those in the 10-21 age range to lack essential life skills like coping with stress and the ability to have a conversation.
"Virtually all aspects of children's development have been affected," the Ottawa non-profit organization said. "Of note are the disruptions in areas of skill development that are fundamental to optimal growth and wellness."
It also left many children feeling isolated and anxious. Sixty-four percent of youth aged 15 to 24 reported a decrease in their mental health during the pandemic and 5 percent of children and youth aged five to 17 reported having a diagnosed anxiety disorder, according to StatCan.
"Social isolation as a result of lockdowns and other societal changes during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, resulting in higher outpatient and emergency department mental health-related visits for youths under 18," the report said.
The report found young females to be more heavily impacted than their male peers with 52,472 girls aged 10 to 17 experiencing mental health and addiction-related inpatient hospitalizations between April 2018 and March 2022. The figures showed a spike in such hospitalizations in several provinces beginning in 2020.
There were 21,367 mental health and addiction-related hospitalizations for boys of that age during the same time period. Altogether, there were 73,839 youth hospitalizations during that time frame.
Despite the pandemic's impact, Scouts Canada spokesperson Kathryn Ashby said she believed Canadians are underestimating today's young people.
"We all know that the current cohort of Canada's 10-21-year-olds have had unique challenges with COVID shutdowns and an increasingly isolating digital world, but Canadians seem to be massively underestimating the resilience and potential of our kids," Ashby said in a press release. "Kids just need the right experiences and mentors to bring out their confidence."