Joel James MS, Senedd Member for South Wales Central, has this week marked Children's Mental Health Week in the Welsh Parliament.
As the Welsh Conservatives Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Children, Young People, Mental Health and Wellbeing, the Member took the opportunity to highlight this important week in the Senedd.
Speaking in the Chamber, Joel highlighted that:
The theme this year is 'know yourself, grow yourself', which aims to equip and empower children and young people across Wales and the United Kingdom to embrace self-awareness and explore what it means for them. It's important now, more than ever, in this rapidly changing world, that young people get to know who they are, which can help them build resilience, grow and develop.
Sadly, recent NSPCC Wales data revealed that anxiety is the top mental health concern for children in Wales, with a quarter of Welsh children who use the NSPCC Childline counselling service, seeking help with anxiety.
Whether it is starting a new school term, exams, friendship groups, bullying or body image concerns, many children and young people are experiencing anxiety on a daily basis.
Childline is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, with their counsellors being able to listen and support you with anything you’d like to talk about. You can contact them for free on 0800 1111 or speak online using the 1-2-1 chats. If you’re deaf, you can also use BSL via an interpreter.
Speaking about the week, Joel James MS said:
Tomorrow is the end of Children's Mental Health Week, and I was proud to have been able to raise it in the Welsh Parliament on Wednesday.
Sadly, according to NSPCC Cymru Wales, anxiety is the major concern for children in Wales, and I know that we can all do a lot more to help tackle this.
Organisations such as NSPCC, Place2Be, Childline and The Salvation Army Wales Division do such a terrific job, and it was great to have been able to highlight them as well.
To watch Joel's Senedd contribution in full, please click here.
