Hard News
Medium: The Guardian Newspaper, as they have an exclusive session for “Life style: Family, Health & Fitness”.
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. In addition, to provide the audiences with a detailed timeline of the campaign.
New campaign aims to encourage conversations about children’s mental health.
beyondblue, a national mental health advocacy organisation, is launching a new campaign to promote awareness of childhood anxiety and depression with a collection of children’s books called Beyondblue Bedtime Stories, aimed at pre-schoolers, which will be available by the end of May in kindergartens across the country.
The 10-book collection is a joint effort between the organisation and the government – it has been published by the Department of Health of the Commonwealth of Australia, and will be offered at an affordable price (one AUD per book) to ensure it is accessible to all.
According to recent government reports by the aforementioned division, about 1 in 7 children aged 4-17 experience a mental disorder, with half of them suffering from anxiety disorders; the major depressive disorder is the third most common ailment. [1]
These conditions negatively impact various facets of their lives: school, friendships, hobbies and social activities in general, family life, and their relationship with themselves.
“It is important to recognize that even children as young as 4 are capable of developing mental disorders [1], and they should be addressed early on to give them the best possible chance of recovery,” stated by Julia Gillard, the current Chair of beyondblue.
beyondblue aims to make available the knowledge necessary to foster a positive environment and encourage open conversations about this topic between parents and their children in order to offer them the help and support they might require to overcome these obstacles.
Beyondblue Bedtime Stories collection provides the opportunity to introduce this subject matter in an age-appropriate way and includes reading guidelines for adults to steer the discussion in a fulfilling direction.
“The collection will be promoted by a series of Bus Tours that will visit each major suburb in the country for three days at a time, stopping by the three largest kindergartens in the area in order to offer a free discussion event open to parents and educators,” said by Minh Nguyen, Communication Leader of the campaign.
A firm believer in the power of speaking up to break down the barriers of stigma that surround mental illness, news presenter Brad McEwan, who has been an ambassador of beyondblue since 2010, will be a guest speaker at the events.
He will also be accompanied by his wife and a crew from beyondblue (with cameraman and experts), so as to panel the discussion and showcase how they can use the collection to engage with their kids.
The storybooks are scheduled to hit bookstores by May 28th, and the tour will start off in Brisbane, on June 15th. The events will be spread out throughout the rest of the year up to December.
For more detailed information about the touring itinerary, including specific times and dates for each location, visit beyondblue official website.