In fact, depression is the second most common childhood mental
health problem. (Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is
number one.) An estimated one in 33 children and one in eight
teens are depressed, and the World Health Organization predicts
that the number of kids -- and adults -- diagnosed with the
disorder could double by the year 2020. Fewer than a fourth of
the estimated 12 million kids in the United States who suffer
from psychiatric disorders receive treatment, however, which
places them at high risk for failing school, abusing drugs and
alcohol, and committing crimes. Kids with untreated depression
also are 12 times more likely to commit suicide. The nation's
suicide rate for children jumped nearly 10 percent from 2003 to
2004, the largest increase in 14 years. Even though up to 80
percent of depressed kids improve with treatment, many parents
delay seeking help because of the stigma of mental illness. "I
wish I would have reacted quicker, but it's a hard thing to
admit your 7-year-old child i