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Kate Middleton Wants Kids to Feel Comfortable Discussing Mental Health

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Her Royal Highness Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton recently helped support the launch of a new podcast series aimed at helping parents understand and discuss their children’s mental health.

Kensington Palace released a statement via Instagram, which describes the Duchess’ job duties and the program’s initiatives. The podcast series, called A Child in Mind, is run through the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, an organization for which the Duchess is a patron. The podcast’s goal is “designed to help parents understand children’s mental health.”

Middleton writes in the Instagram caption precisely why parents must discuss and address mental health:

One in three adults still say they would be embarrassed to seek help for their child’s mental health. No parent would fail to call the doctor if their child developed a fever, yet some children are tackling tough times without the support that can help them because the adults in their life are scared to ask. It doesn’t need to be like this.

Middleton continues to strike an empathetic tone in the statement. She goes so far as to mention her own children: “William and I feel very strongly that we wouldn’t hesitate to get expert support for George and Charlotte if they need it.”

The Duchess’ work with the Anna Freud Centre isn’t her first foray into mental health support. In February, she wrote a post for Huffington Post UK about similar subject matter.

“The mental health of our children must be seen as every bit as important as their physical health,” she wrote. “For too long we have been embarrassed to admit when our children need emotional or psychiatric help, worried that the stigma associated with these problems would be detrimental to their futures.”

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