Ahead of Children’s Mental Health Week, which begins tomorrow, The Duchess of Cambridge has filmed her first selfie video, to discuss the importance of parents’ own mental wellbeing, for the good of their children.
Catherine appeared to be on a walk or jog near to the family’s Norfolk home of Anmer Hall, on The Queen’s Sandringham estate. This is where the family have spent most of the national lockdowns.
Standing in a field with a foliage backdrop, the Duchess encouraged parents to look after their own mental health as ‘we really do need to be the very best versions of ourselves for the children in our care’.
The Duchess of Cambridge recorded a video outdoors near her Norfolk home discussing parents’ mental health (@KensingtonRoyal video)
“This year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is all about expressing yourself – about finding creative ways in which to share your thoughts, ideas and feelings,” the message came.
“So whether that’s through photography, through art, through drama, through music or poetry – it’s finding those things that make you feel good about yourself.
“And while this is Children’s Mental Health Week there has never been a more important time to talk about parental wellbeing and mental health too,” the Duchess said.
The video follows the Royal admitting that she found lockdown ‘exhausting’ in a call with London parents and a headteacher.
Tomorrow is the start of Children's Mental Health Week – an opportunity to remind ourselves not just how important our own children's mental health is but also parental wellbeing too.
We look forward to sharing more about the year's theme of expressing yourself this week. pic.twitter.com/nQRmgkJWxM
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) January 31, 2021
She has supported the annual awareness week since its launch in 2015 – to highlight the importance of children and young people’s mental health – by Place2Be, a children’s mental health charity of which she is royal patron.
“Last year you told me just how important this was, that many of us find it hard to prioritise,” Kate commented, referencing the 5 Big Questions initiative she launched in January 2020.
Results showed that only 1/4 of respondents understood how crucial the first five years of a child’s life were in setting them on life’s course, and nearly two-thirds of parents felt lonely during the pandemic.
“This is a hugely challenging time for us all so please look after yourself too.
“Find those ways in which to share your thoughts and your feelings or find someone to talk to because we really do need to be the very best versions of ourselves for the children in our care.”
Anmer Hall, the country home of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.( I-images)
The setting of the video outdoors reminds us of Catherine’s own love of the outdoors, which is something she is trying to instil in her own children, she explained on her podcast appearance last year.
