Workshop helps parents start conversation with children on mental health
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Parents of Peirce Secondary School students attending the workshop on how to approach the topic of mental health with their children.
PHOTO: WE HEAR-T YOU
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SINGAPORE - How do you speak to your child about mental health? Parents of Peirce Secondary School Students found out when they attended a workshop on Saturday.
The parents shared their experiences and areas of concern, such as managing their child’s emotional outbursts, mood swings and rebellious behaviour, guided by a social worker from Touch Community Services.
The workshop was an initiative, We Hear-t You, by four undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Wee Kim Wee School of Communications and Information, who saw the need to empower parents to take charge of mental health conversations with their children.
2021 figures from the Samaritans of Singapore show that the number of suicides among children and youth aged between 10 and 29 was was the highest
Preliminary findings from a survey that were released in May 2020 also found that about one in three youth in Singapore
Those aged 14 to 16 had more serious symptoms, according to the survey that is part of the Singapore Youth Epidemiology and Resilience Study involving 3,336 young people aged 11 to 18 here.
Mr Nur Irsyad Abu Bakar, who led the NTU team that helmed We Hear-t You, said: “As part of Singapore’s commitment to supporting youth mental health, we hope to contribute to the mental health landscape and target their first line of defence – parents.”
He said that mental wellness is a difficult topic to navigate, and hopes the project can provide parents with a safe space to share their concerns.
“By ideating strategies to resolve problems they face in managing youth struggles, we hope parents will feel empowered to take the first step to spark conversation with their youth.”
Plans for a follow-up session in April are under way, to check in with parents and see if they have implemented the solutions discussed, and find out about their experiences approaching their children.
The We Hear-t You campaign also has a letter-writing initiative to give parents the opportunity to take the first step in talking to their children about mental health.
The letter-writing kit – a guide on how to approach the topic and a blank letter template – is available online. Until March 15, physical copies can also be requested for mailing out.
A collection of photo stories that feature parent-child duos who have overcome mental health challenges together is available on the campaign’s Facebook page.
The teacher in charge of the Peirce Parent Support Group, Madam Loo Pei Ghee, said: “Parents’ concerns regarding their youth’s mental health have been increasing, and we hope to boost our efforts to help parents with the issues that they face.”
