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.