With 75% of mental illnesses starting before a person’s 18th birthday, evidence shows that providing good, early preventative support in the right place at the right time can help to avoid young people’s mental health deteriorating.
However, as parents and carers there is no “one size fits all” solution to supporting our children’s mental health, and it can feel like a daunting experience for those who don’t have the right access to information and support themselves. That’s why we are delighted to launch our new platform, the Parenting Hub, with our partners SC Johnson.
The Parenting Hub is our new online community for parents and carers to get information and access to peer support. It will;
- provide a safe environment for parents to share experiences, support each other and access expert advice,
- provide resources for parents to learn about mental health and how to better support their children,
- and build parents’ confidence to have supportive conversations and talk about mental health.
The Parenting Hub will be moderated 24/7 by our trained experts so parents and carers feel safe and supported to talk about their children’s wellbeing through our Chat and Forum spaces. We will host bi-monthly Q&A sessions with expert panels on topics related to young people’s mental health including social media and managing exam stress. The site will also include resources with practical information and guidance for parents and carers on what to do if they are concerned about their young person’s mental health, created by our expert Young People team, who have been running our in-school programme Bloom since 2019.
Enda Egan is Head of our Young People’s Programmes at Mental Health UK and is leading on the creation of our Parenting Hub:
“We are hugely grateful to SC Johnson for their donation, allowing us to create our new online platform for parents and carers. Connecting with other parents is not only beneficial for sharing information and advice to support our children’s mental health, but is also crucial for the wellbeing of parents and carers themselves. We can only be there for the young people in our lives if we too feel well supported, and that is why we have come together with SC Johnson to create this indispensable resource.”
The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on young people with studies pointing to increased levels of distress, worry and anxiety (Barnardo’s, Mental Health Foundation, Strathclyde University), so the launch of the Parenting Hub comes at a pivotal time.
The Parenting Hub launches this week, coinciding with the beginning of Children’s Mental Health Week. You can sign up to the Parenting Hub today and become part of our community of parents and carers, to be there for the young people in your lives.
Join our next webinar on 17 February where we’ll hear from Enda Egan to discuss How to support the young people in your life as a parent or carer and get support for yourself. This webinar will be a chance to learn more about the Parenting Hub and ask any questions to the panel.