With a growing number of children and families seeking help from mental health services, the Duchess of Cambridge has been speaking about the benefits that decision can have.

Sharing her support for a series of podcasts that aim to parents how to understand their child's mental health, Kate outlined that there is still a long way to go before e destigmatism the issue.

"One in three adults still say they would be embarrassed to seek help for their child's mental health.

"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."

William and Kate have both been very active in their work for children's mental health awareness supporting campaigns such as Heads Together and it sounds like Kate has taken a lot away from that experience.

"Throughout my work with family and child support organisations, one thing that has stood out to me time and again is that getting early support for a child who is struggling to cope is the best possible thing we can do to help our children as they grow up.

"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."

Kate finished by highlighting the important and incredibly valuable work that mental health services are providing for children and that families should not be afraid to seek that support.

"I hope that this excellent series of podcasts by the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families will go some way to help families overcome that fear of what happens next if they look for professional support.

"They illustrate that many of the therapies are actually very simple and practical steps that include the whole family to help children make sense of the world around them.

"They show how with the right help, children have a good chance of overcoming their issues while they are still young, and can have the bright future they deserve."

 

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge and Patron of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, has supported the launch of a series of podcasts designed to help parents understand children's mental health. The Duchess said: "One in three adults still say they would be embarrassed to seek help for their child's mental health. 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. Throughout my work with family and child support organisations, one thing that has stood out to me time and again is that getting early support for a child who is struggling to cope is the best possible thing we can do to help our children as they grow up. 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. I hope that this excellent series of podcasts by the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families will go some way to help families overcome that fear of what happens next if they look for professional support. They illustrate that many of the therapies are actually very simple and practical steps that include the whole family to help children make sense of the world around them. They show how with the right help, children have a good chance of overcoming their issues while they are still young, and can have the bright future they deserve. Please do listen, and share them with your friends and family and let's change the way we all talk to each other about our mental health." You can listen to the podcasts by searching for Child In Mind on the Anna Freud account iTunes or Soundcloud.

A photo posted by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Aug 14, 2016 at 1:43am PDT