Darlington woman calls for mental health to be taught in schools
There are calls for school kids to be taught about mental health sooner, by a Darlington woman who lost her dad to suicide.
A Darlington woman who lost her dad to suicide wants better support for stressed out kids.
Nikita Cadman’s dad died in 2013, as the latest figures show more than 400 people take their own lives every year in the North East.
The 25-year-old now wants children as young as seven to be taught about mental health. She said:
“Children should be taught how to recognise their emotions, what to do when they feel these emotions and how they can deal with that.
“I know my niece hasn’t handled by dad’s death badly, but she’s just got on with it – she should know that it’s okay to cry about it.
“It’s drumming it into people from a young age.
“I think personally if we teach children from a very young age that it’s okay not to be okay, then we’ll be alright.
“We teach them to tie their shoe laces, why don’t we teach them how to talk about how they’re feeling?”
She’s speaking out after a ‘Walk of Light’ was held in Gateshead at the weekend. The annual event is organised by the IF U Care Share Foundation, bringing together those bereaved by suicide as well as those who have been at risk of suicide.
You can find more about the walk here:
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