Supporting a child’s wellbeing starts with adults looking after their own first
Its Children’s Mental Health Week 1-7 February 2021 and the theme is ‘express yourself’. There has never been a more important time for parents and carers to look after themselves too.
As we peer over the brink of an ever-widening youth mental health crisis, more parents and carers are reaching out to gain support for their child, but it is equally important that they prioritise their own mental health too. Early intervention is important and we are here to help with specialist services, but there is also things that adults can do at home to support a child’s wellbeing as well as their own - we intend to share a few ideas to ‘express yourself’ this week.
With this in mind, we thought we would ask a parent who attended an Inspire Wellbeing Services* parent seminar about childhood anxiety to give us a parent’s perspective. One of Emily’s key takeaways from the seminar was that ‘looking after my own wellbeing is as important as supporting my child’s’. She told us that she has been reminding herself of this throughout the pandemic and this is why:
“I know we hear it all the time ‘what are you doing to look after your own mental health?’ I now fully appreciate just how entwined I am to those I care about most. To best support my children, I need to be kinder to myself and to work on my own wellbeing to give my children the best of me.” – Emily, parent
Every day our front-line team of creative therapists continue to support children, young people and families recovering from traumatic experiences or suffering from mental health issues. They draw from the arts to support children to understand their emotions and feelings, teaching them along the way to ‘express themselves’ creatively.
Our referral numbers have increased by 200% in just one year, yet our usual fundraising events have been cancelled. Support to help us continue our work is always welcome and this week during children’s mental health week, even more so. Please gift what you can.
Keep an eye out on our social channels for more creative ways to ‘express yourself’.
*Inspire Wellbeing Services is a specialist service whose profits go back into supporting children’s mental health.