CLICK HERE : To watch.
I am all fired up!
Yesterday I attended a conference run by the BPS ( The British Psychological Society ).
Raising Resilience : Nurturing Children and Young People
The event was designed to provide a “clear focus on our children and young people … offering the opportunity to learn about policy and practice developments.”
For the first part of the day, the message I was hearing – loud and clear – was that there was a need for more departmental liaison. We heard how the Health Sector and the Education Sector need to “Work Better Together.”
One of the speakers went on to say that with each child potentially spending 7700 hours on their education – schools in particular, need to provide more support.
Hoorah!
Not only that, but as one speaker reminded us all :
“We all have our part to play.”
Bravo!
Our children and young people have themselves, identified emotional health and wellbeing as a key priority; and so – quite rightly too – many of the speakers addressed the need for parents to have a deeper involvement in their child’s mental health journey as well.
But, and it’s a BIG BUT – no one in a position of power or authority is showing parents how to do this.
As a child, I learned about Romeo and Juliet, Hadrian’s Wall and Logarithms & Pythagoras. As parents, our own schooling leaves us ill-equipped to deal with the challenges that growing up in today’s world entails; matters like :
- Communication : How to talk to our children ( or one another for that matter )
- Mental Health : Identifying triggers and the appropriate coping strategies to use when we are struggling
- Empathy & Rapport : Building Better Relationships
Yesterday I felt very alone and powerless. The whole day – we were offered statistics telling us what should be done …
… But no-one was saying HOW.
Please watch my video.
Yes – I get animated.
Yes – I get emotional.
But this is important.
I fully understand the need for parental involvement and the importance of education and information to support this. So, last year I sent out over 75 copies of my book The TEEN Toolbox to Principals or Pastoral Care Teachers in Primary and Secondary schools in my local area. I was offering my support for the school and their parents.
I received ONE response back.
I am so very frustrated that the ‘powers that be’ are not, in my opinion, having a positive enough impact on the mental health of our children and young people.
This is time for action – not for another blooming study.
So what action are you taking Cai ?
It is my mission to :
Help Parents Raise a Happier and Mentally Healthier Generation of Young People
How I plan to do this is to get my book into every school bag – so that parents and children are equipped with the tools and techniques they need to improve mental health and effectively deal with the obstacles that life throws at us.
If you can help me get more traction – please help me.
If you can help me get my message out there – please share this post.
Because it’s important.
If you are looking for some tools to help you right now :
