Americans seem to be obsessed with Princess Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and with good reason because she loves children and wants the best for them. She supports various children’s charities, such as Beat Bullying, Child Bereavement Charity, Starlight Children’s Foundation and the Teenage Cancer Trust. Now the Duchess will be the guest editor at Huffington Post for just one day in order to raise awareness for mental health issues for young people.
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Last year she supported the UK’s first Children’s Mental Health Week and she was Royal Patron of the children’s mental health charity, Place2Be where she recorded the following video:
She says in the video how many young people are struggling to cope with the impact of bullying, bereavement, domestic violence, family breakdown and more. “Without support, the effects of these challenges could be traumatic leading to serious issues, such as anxiety, depression, addiction, and self harm.”
In the U.S. mental health disorders among children ages 3-17 are on the rise. According to a CDC report, millions of American children live with depression, anxiety. Approximately 3% live with anxiety, 2% with depression, 3.5% with behavioral or conduct problems. This leads to bigger problems when they reach their teenage years, causing them to pick up bad habits like drugs, alcohol and cigarette smoking.
What Can You Do?
The best thing you can do is simply talk to your child and seek help, talk to a child healthcare professional about the concerns you might have. Early diagnosis and treatment could help prevent future problems.
Princess Kate will invite leading figures in the mental health field to contribute to the issue. Next month we will see her on Huffington Post UK’s website talking about how this affects young children. We’re sure she will get the conversation started on this very important and critical issue that is affecting many.
