The biggest spike has been in the last year, with a 40 per cent increase in prescriptions over 12 months.

Experts say these pharmaceuticals are usually the final option .

“What it really reflects is lack of access to good psychological and behavioural care … clearly we have a long way to go to meet the needs of kids in this country,” said Professor Ian Hickie from The University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre.

Changing attitudes are also contributing to the uptake, with kids becoming increasingly well-versed in the mental health vernacular, he says, and parents increasingly ready to listen.

“Simply being able to use those psychological terms doesn't mean you’ve got a mental disorder, psychological disorder and certainly not one that requires, necessarily medical treatment,” Professor Hickie said.

But it means a generation of kids are being raised unable to cope without medication. 

“We don't have enough assessment taking place and there's a danger there it gets highly medicalised," Hickie said.