Parents of about 15 percent of kids spoke to school staff or health care providers about their children's emotional and behavior problems in the last year, according to a survey out yesterday, the first ever to gauge the issue.

Nearly one out of five boys had parents who discussed such problems, and about one out of 10 girls, says the report from more than 17,000 parents with children ages 4 to 17. The survey, released by the National Center for Health Statistics, was done in 2005 and 2006.

There's no comparable earlier survey, but some children's mental health experts were surprised at the extent of concern, especially for boys — and divided as to whether it's a good or bad sign.

About 5 percent of children were prescribed medicine, mostly for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with another 5 percent receiving other treatment, such as therapy, alone or combined with medication.

Bringing concerns out in the open is a good thing, says David Fassler, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinical professor at the University of Vermont. "More and more American parents are recognizing the symptoms of emotional and behavior problems, and they're asking for help."

The survey was done after pediatric use of ADHD medications and antipsychotics had skyrocketed, show figures from Medco Health Solutions, a large pharmacy benefit management company. Antidepressant prescriptions dropped off after the Food and Drug Administration in 2004 ordered tougher safety warnings about the use of the pills by children.

The high number of worried parents shows "the very narrow range of normalcy allowed for children these days," says behavioral pediatrician Lawrence Diller of Walnut Creek, Calif., author of "The Last Normal Child." "Welcome to the age of anxiety, where more is expected of children academically and in self-discipline, while both parents are working, so there's less support and structure."

For kids who do get counseling, 39 percent receive it at school, and 27 percent at their doctor's office, the survey finds. More pediatricians are bringing mental health experts into their offices, or bringing them onboard as consultants, says Jane Foy, a pediatrician and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians are hearing more about mental health issues, and therapy services are sparse, she says.

Some school districts have increased their mental health services for students, says Kathy Cowan of the National Association of School Psychologists. But there's still a huge dearth of help for kids in many districts," she adds.