Top tips to help parents support kids’ mental wellbeing

eight members of the Youth Cabinet sit or stand in two rows, holding multi-coloured posters showing their ten top tipsYoung people in East Sussex are offering their ‘top ten tips’ to help parents and carers support children’s mental health.

The guide was developed after a survey of almost 1,000 people found children, parents and carers had different ideas on what would help youngsters’ emotional wellbeing.

It includes simple tips such as being open and honest, picking the right time to talk, trusting children to know their own mental health and to ‘listen first, talk later’, and also reminds parents and carers to look after their own mental wellbeing.

The tips, put together by East Sussex Youth Cabinet and Seaford Youth Forum, appear on posters and postcards to be distributed first in Seaford and then around the county in the spring.

The initiative was also launched as a social media campaign from 18 November and shared at an event with parents and carers at Seaford Head School in December.

East Sussex Youth Cabinet member Bea Montgomerie-Christie, 17, said: “In our research we found a lot of information on mental health, but it wasn’t always accessible or useful for parents and carers.

“After consulting with hundreds of young people and parents and carers across East Sussex, we found that they really want support and good advice, and would benefit from knowing about websites and other resources that can help.”

The young people, who last year compiled a top 10 tips guide for schools, spoke to teachers, families and health professionals and surveyed 589 young people and 368 parents and carers.

They found parents overestimated how effective they were at having open and honest conversations with their children and how likely their child was to talk to them about any issues.

While parents and carers thought their children would talk to them first if they felt anxious or distressed, young people said they would be more likely to speak to friends, siblings or teachers.

Atiya Gourlay, equality, participation and partnerships manager at East Sussex County Council, said: “The young people have developed an eye-catching and creative series of images to promote the tips for parents and carers.

“The project is a showcase of the benefit of involving young people and giving them the opportunity to play a leading role in communication campaigns.

“By providing simple but effective tips and directing adults to other resources available, young people in East Sussex are helping to develop adults’ confidence and promote mental wellbeing.”

Some of the young people involved were interviewed about the scheme for BBC Sussex’s Raising Teens programme, recorded by the media production company Make (Good) Trouble, aired on Monday, December 16 2019 at 8pm.

Visit the Open for Parents website to read the top ten tips. The site offers a range of information and resources for parents. Join in the conversation on social media with @EastSussexYC .

The project involved East Sussex Youth Cabinet, Seaford Youth Forum, East Sussex County Council, NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups, Waves Parenting Advice Service, Seaford Head School and the media production company Make (Good) Trouble.