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A guest blog from our Senior PR and Campaigns Executive, Jo Armstrong, all about this year's Parent's Mental Health Day campaign, and what it means to her as a mum.

It’s Parents’ Mental Health Day today and the theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Screen Smart Parenting’; a theme chosen to address the growing concerns among parents and carers about the impact of digital technology on families’ wellbeing.

Not going to lie, this is a tricky subject to write about. I’m a full-time working mum; juggling working within a busy Marcomms role, caring for my two boys, and everything else life throws in between all that. 

I’m also a kid of the late seventies. Smart phones, tablets and the internet weren’t a thing then. To stay connected you called a friend’s house phone, knocked on someone’s front door (usually to see if they were ‘playing out’), or met at the latest church hall birthday party or after school Brownies meet-up. We made plans, stayed connected, and there was a sense of community.

And before actually becoming a parent, I had strong views on what my kids would and wouldn’t do, including not being on a screen 24/7, having a dummy or co-sleeping… and then I became a parent! The practicalities set in, alongside ALL the parent guilt as well.

The stats around young people’s access to digital devices and platforms is scary reading.

Nearly a quarter of UK 5-7 year-olds now have their own smartphone, and social media use rose again last year, with nearly two in five kids using messaging service WhatsApp, despite its minimum age for sign up being 13.

But there’s good and bad points to all of this I feel.  

I’m pleased my kids have had access to tech. As a Gen X-er, I’ve always struggling to stay on top of the latest technology and channels, as it just wasn’t available at home or school. I’ve had to adopt the ‘give it a go and see what happens’ approach – tricky when search engines weren’t a thing and you couldn’t ‘just google it’!

My kids have been born into the online era. They’ve used screens as part of their school learning since as early as nursery! And I think it’s great they’ve had such privileged access – they’ll need these skills in later life, whatever they go on to do.

But there is a dark side that scares me. I use social media every day, for work and personal use. It’s a great resource that opens up access, is a great way to share and receive information, and feel more connected. But the amount of misinformation; scare-mongering, and negative, mature, and downright inappropriate content that anyone can access so easily, truly terrifies me- from a parenting perspective and in general.   

And as the first generation of parents trying to navigate  our kids through the increasingly fast-paced world of ‘being online’, it’s new and uncertain territory. Our parents and support networks didn’t have this in years gone by, we’ve no one to check in with and ask if we’re ‘doing this right’. The fear of getting it wrong and ‘breaking our kids’ does nothing for parents’ mental health or wellbeing.

With approximately 68% of women and 57% of men’s mental health problems being associated with parenting issues it’s not just the wellbeing of children and young people that’s massively at risk here. We need to address the impact this all has on everyone; including the level of worry, anxiety and guilt that this all causes to parents and caregivers.  

My own take on this is that we need to stop demonising the devices and channels. Instead let’s call for greater regulation from the providers, with stricter governance around how social media content is accessed, managed, and shared to all audiences. And let’s make it far easier to report and take down inappropriate and damaging content.  

And let’s all work together on co-educating our kids (and ourselves), alongside schools, colleges, and universities on what’s great about staying ‘screen smart’, the potential pitfalls, and keeping open communication. When my kids (inevitably) see something online that isn’t right, I want them to question it and chat to me, their dad, teachers, and other people they trust to share the worry and continue to trust us to help them. 

I’ll also be leaning into my trusted support network of other parents who I’ve navigated this rocky road of parenthood with to date. By asking them how they are dealing with their kids finding their way in this ‘digital era’, asking what’s worked (and hasn’t) and (most importantly for our own parental mental health and wellbeing), not passing any judgement on how others are doing this.   

Yep, I’m a parent. I’m also a human. I’ll not get it right (probably) most of the time! Mistakes will happen. But if I can help our kids have a happier, safer, and connected future, I feel I’ve successfully supported them, whilst not causing myself emotional distress or mental ill-health in the process. 

Now for the other eleventy-billion parenting tasks to complete successfully; no pressure everyone!

Find out more about Parent’s Mental Health Day

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