Parents should break down mental health stigma by engaging in discussions with kids
May 2, 2016, 5:00 AM
Parents should talk to their kids about what they say in regard to mental health — and how exactly how they should say it.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Christina Tetreault, co-founder of the Commit Campaign, said awareness starts by properly talking about the issues.
“Terminology these days,” she said. “How to say things, should you be scared about a topic, it’s just important to know the reasons why you say something and your intentions behind it.”
Tetreault said it’s hard to know what’s politically correct and what’s politically incorrect, but it does matter.
“We want to make that we’re teaching them, the phrase ‘mental health’ and that it’s not scary,” she said.
Everyone has a brain, and we should embrace taking care of that large organ, she said.
“Talking about mental health shouldn’t be a scary thing,” she said.