Children's Mental health Week

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, has taken part in a video message to launch Children’s Mental Health Week.

The event, which started yesterday, is designed to focus to how build children’s resilience and their ability to cope with life’s stressful situations. She also highlights the work of the charity Place2Be, a charity that Chrysalis students are able to gain placements on, and which she is a patron, who work with children and their families. The organisation provides emotional and therapeutic services in 257 primary and secondary schools, helping them to cope with issues such as bullying, bereavement, domestic violence and neglect.

The Duchess of Cambridge goes on to highlight the importance of addressing mental health problems early in life, saying: ‘Through my work in areas like addiction, I have seen time and again that the roots of poor mental health in adulthood frequently stem from unresolved childhood issues. This needs to change.’

In the message, the Duchess says that both she and her husband Prince William, feel strongly that ‘every child deserves to be supported through difficult times in their lives.’

‘Every child deserves to grow up feeling confident that they won’t fall at the first hurdle, that they cope with life’s setbacks,’ she says.

‘This resilience - our ability to deal with stressful situations - is something we begin to learn in childhood, as we respond to each challenge and problem life presents.

‘Many of us are incredibly fortunate that the issues we face in childhood are ones we can cope with and learn from. But for some children, learning to cope with life’s challenges can be a struggle.

‘While we cannot always change a child’s circumstances, we can give them the tools to cope, and to thrive. With early support they can learn to manage their emotions and feelings and know when to seek help.’

The work the Duchess of Cambridge is doing to highlight mental health in Children is such a positive leap. Together with the work of Place2Be the stigma surrounding the ares is gradually lessening.