Newsroom
October 7, 2022
‘Just starting the conversation is so important’: RBC Race For The Kids Supporting Youth Mental Health
“I cannot imagine how different it’d be if we had to figure it out later in life,” said Kherington and Maddox’s mom, Cara. Dating back to when Kherington and Maddox were both infants, Cara knew the importance of making mental health a topic that her children weren’t afraid to talk about.
Cara began with “small” things like teaching her children what their feelings were and what those meant, to now teaching them the techniques they need when they are struggling with their own mental health.
Being a parent is extremely difficult and breaching the topic of mental health with your child(ren) exacerbates that feeling even more, but just starting that conversation can make the road ahead far less daunting.
As to how to approach this topic, Cara said, “It’s important to talk about emotions and tell your children emotions are okay. Just starting the conversation is so important because if you don’t start it your child is going to think they can’t talk to you about it.”
As important as the mental health of her child is, Cara also recognizes that in order to make sure Kherington and Maddox’s mental health is in order, hers has to be as well.
“If you are struggling with your own mental health, you are overwhelmed or you’re having symptoms of depression or anxiety or having a medical child is a stressful thing, to reach out and talk to somebody. Reach out and get yourself the help because you have to be in a position where you can help your child process what they’re going through,” said Cara.
For Cara and her family, they started having those discussions about mental health when Kherington and Maddox were very young but it’s never too late to start those conversations with your own kids. Mental health affects all people no matter what age and can worsen if not addressed.
“If you haven’t already had the conversation about emotions and feelings and self-regulation, today’s the day. You should start. Have those conversations with your kids and normalize it. But also normalize having difficulties in those. If your kid is having a hard moment, it’s not because they’re a bad human or there’s anything innately wrong with them. They just need help figuring out some of these challenging emotions and if you don’t open the door for that dialogue they’re never going to feel comfortable coming to you for help until it’s a crisis,” explains Cara.
When you register and/or make a donation for RBC Race for the Kids taking place in Saskatchewan on October 15 & 16, 2022, you support kids and families in the province like Cara’s and help kids receive mental health care at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation.
