Backgrounder
Medium: beyondblue website.
Message: to provide the audiences with detailed information about the issues regarding mental health (especially anxiety and depression), the Beyondblue Bedtime Stories collection and the Bus Tours.
About beyondblue
beyondblue is an Australian independent and non-profit organisation focused on increasing awareness of depression and anxiety disorders. beyondblue promotes good mental health by educating and supporting people affected by these conditions, and fighting stigma and discrimination against mental illnesses.
beyondblue was created in 2000 as a bipartisan initiative of the Federal, State and Territory governments; it offers a wide variety of resources that target specific population groups (men, women, youths and the elderly, among others) in order to provide a public service that empowers all Australians to reduce the impact of widespread depression and anxiety.
The organisation has five priority areas in which they take action: community awareness and destigmatisation, consumer and carer participation, prevention and early intervention, primary care, and targeted research. This is a large-scale joint effort undertaken by the government, the health sector, the media, and community and corporate partners.
Anxiety and depression in children
Emotional development is a complex part of childhood; as kids start to develop a sense of self, a wide range of new emotions begin to appear, and it can be difficult for children in the early stages of growth to identify, understand and manage them appropriately. [7]
As with all aspects of childhood, parents have to take into account these stages to support their healthy development, and it’s essential that they acknowledge the feelings of children and act as a role model to encourage healthy emotional expression. Even so, the emotional regulation adults are used to is quite different from that of children, so it’s possible that they fail to notice actual symptoms of mental disorders. [5]
Although somewhat rare, children who are 4-11 years old can experiment major depressive disorder (approximately 1.2% within said age group) and a greater amount, up to 6.9% will experience an anxiety disorder (social phobia, separation anxiety, GAD, and/or OCD). It’s important that families, caretakers and educators are aware of this and understand the importance of prevention and treatment to improve successful outcomes. [6]
About Beyondblue Bedtime Stories
This campaign was developed as part of the prevention and early intervention strategies offered to young children and their parents to help establish a constructive dialogue about any symptoms of anxiety or depression that could affect them. It also provides a link to other support services for those families that are in need of in-depth professional assistance.
For many children, bedtime is one of the few moments of their day when they can spend some quality time with their parents [9] [10], and as such it was identified as a prime occasion for addressing the issue of mental health in a nurturing setting. Stories are a way of introducing the topic in a non-threatening way, through examples, which can then lead to meaningful discussions between parent and child and assure them that if they have or if they ever present any symptoms they can receive the help they need.
The campaign is promoted through a series of bus tours across Australia. News presenter Brad McEwan, who has been an ambassador of beyondblue since 2010, will be the ambassador of this campaign. He will be accompanied by beyondblue experts and cameraman to host discussion and instruct the parents with the Beyondblue Bedtime Stories collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. At what age are children most likely to be exposed to anxiety and depression?
According to a report conducted by Canberra: Department of Health in 2015, one in seven (14%) of young people aged 4 to 17 years experience a mental health condition (including depression and anxiety). [1]
2. What is the most important factor of this campaign?
The crucial component of this campaign is the collection of Beyondblue Bedtime Stories itself. Bedtime is one of the few times of the day when children can organically (and randomly) open up discussions with their parents. Therefore, we decide to weave some key information related to anxiety and depression into bedtime stories.
3. How will the stories ensure interaction and engagement from the children? Wouldn’t the content be too data-heavy?
The stories are written and designed by the best writers and graphic designers with close supervision from expert psychologists. All of the staff members working on this project have tested them with their kids and received positive results. The stories will have many interactive components, such as finger puppets and pop-up pages. There will also be a guideline for parents in the last page of each book so that they know how to interpret key aspects and address them through open discussions with their children.
4. For which age group are the stories suitable?
The stories are suitable for children from the age of two to seven years old.
5. How many books are there? How many stories does each book contain? How much does each book cost?
There are ten books in the whole Beyondblue Bedtime Stories Collection. Each book has two stories with the same character. Each book costs only one Australian dollar.
6. Where can the Beyondblue Bedtime Stories collection be bought?
A certain amount of collections will be provided in every kindergarten and beyondblue has collaborated with some bookstores in each suburb. Full details about store locations are available on the beyondblue official website.
7. When will the Bus Tours discussions be hosted?
The Bus Tours discussion will be programmed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons weekly at different kindergartens. A detailed agenda will be provided on the beyondblue official website.
8. As a parent, where can I find other resources for myself and my child?
At the website healthyfamilies.beyondblue.org.au, you will be able to access information about children and mental health, and if you need more support you can contact with us through our hotline, by email or by using the chat function of the website. You can also become a member of our online forum boards and communicate with other parents as well.