We live in anxious times. Many are struggling with mental health, and children are no exception. To always be told you can be anyone and do anything; to find the strength inside – what if you don’t achieve your dream? What if you can’t? What if there is always, always someone better, brighter, more beautiful on another screen? Children are growing up beset with anxiety and low self-esteem, and recent worldwide events, with yet more life online, has only increased and intensified these themes. So how can parents build mental wellbeing in their children so they can grow into well-adjusted adults, especially given these infamously ‘unprecedented’ circumstances?
From Katharine Hill comes this wise, clear and informative book, to equip parents to care for their children’s mental wellbeing from the very start of their childhood.
Offering encouragement, insight, action points and practical activities, A Mind of Their Own explores the stages of brain and emotional development and the impact of social media, peer pressure, atmosphere in the home, isolation, and socio-economic environment on children and teenagers as they develop. Candidly told through real-life stories and with thorough, up-to-the-minute research, this book also tackles the more difficult topics such as anxiety and depression, eating disorders and self-harm, always in a non-sensational way, and always with practical advice on what to do in challenging situations.
Celebrating and affirming the strength of family life, as well as addressing the tests and trials of recent times, A Mind of Their Own is a lifeline for parents who want to build resilience in their children, helping them to see good mental wellbeing as part of the bigger story, and to raise children who are secure in their own identity.