Kate Middleton Addresses Mental Health For Kids

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge and Patron of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, has supported the launch of a series of podcasts designed to help parents understand children's mental health. The Duchess said: "One in three adults still say they would be embarrassed to seek help for their child's mental health. No parent would fail to call the doctor if their child developed a fever, yet some children are tackling tough times without the support that can help them because the adults in their life are scared to ask. It doesn’t need to be like this. Throughout my work with family and child support organisations, one thing that has stood out to me time and again is that getting early support for a child who is struggling to cope is the best possible thing we can do to help our children as they grow up. Knowing this, both William and I feel very strongly that we wouldn’t hesitate to get expert support for George and Charlotte if they need it. I hope that this excellent series of podcasts by the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families will go some way to help families overcome that fear of what happens next if they look for professional support. They illustrate that many of the therapies are actually very simple and practical steps that include the whole family to help children make sense of the world around them. They show how with the right help, children have a good chance of overcoming their issues while they are still young, and can have the bright future they deserve. Please do listen, and share them with your friends and family and let's change the way we all talk to each other about our mental health." You can listen to the podcasts by searching for Child In Mind on the Anna Freud account iTunes or Soundcloud.

A photo posted by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Aug 14, 2016 at 1:43am PDT

Kate Middleton has put her support behind another new program aimed at children and families and has again focused on conversations surrounding mental health.

The Duchess of Cambridge released a statement and Kensington Palace posted a photo to Instagram in conjunction with the launch of a new podcast that will discuss child and family mental health. The podcast, Child In Mind, is a project of the Anna Freud National Centre For Children and Families. The goal of the podcast is to "help parents understand and manage family and child mental health problems." Each episode will feature an expert and a parent or child dealing with a mental health concern. The first will focus on anxiety.

Kate Middleton is a Patron of the Anna Freud NCCF and she hopes that the new series can help open up a dialogue for parents. "One in three adults still say they would be embarrassed to seek help for their child's mental health," she said in her statement. "No parent would fail to call the doctor if their child developed a fever, yet some children are tackling tough times without the support that can help them, because the adults in their life are scared to ask. It doesn’t need to be like this."

She emphasizes the importance of getting early support. Middleton also made it clear that she would seek appropriate help for her own children, because that support can be one of the best things a parent can do for a child. "Knowing this, both William and I feel very strongly that we wouldn’t hesitate to get expert support for George and Charlotte if they need it," she says.

Kate's statement echoes the thoughts behind other initiatives designed to get people talking about mental health issues, like the Let's Talk About Mental Health Instagram project we reported on earlier this year.

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