Will I be going to school today? What date are my exams? When can we go to grandma’s? Can we go to the park? When can I see my friends?
Overprotected ‘snowflakes’, ‘entitled’, a stressed generation addicted to social media? Only a matter of months ago concern about rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm among young people was considerable. Now with the added uncertainty, stress, and anxiety that the pandemic has brought with it, concern has multiplied.
The difficulty our children face is how to navigate the complex world of the 21st century – one full of both opportunity and challenge, potential and risk. As their parents or carers, we are the people most able to help them, but if we are to do this it’s not enough for us just to be aware of potential issues and their impact on mental health; we also need to know how we can best prepare them to meet life’s inevitable challenges and setbacks head-on.
In A Mind of Their Own, Katharine Hill discusses the important ways in which parents can nurture their children’s resilience and emotional wellbeing. Honest and practical, with tried and tested strategies, it covers key areas including body confidence, dealing with failure and disappointment, school and exam stress, social media, bullying, and handling strong emotions. This is a roadmap which acknowledges the pandemic of 2020 but goes beyond that, offering support for the challenges which have been faced for decades prior.
