But as parents and carers, it’s sometimes hard to know the difference between normal worries and something more serious.
As part of Families Stronger Together in Deni initiative, Deni MHAG aims at helping parents, carers and educators access digital resources around supporting children and young people of all ages with their mental health and wellbeing.
In most cases, anxiety in children is short-lived.
However some children experience anxiety more intensely and more often than other children.
This stops them from getting the most out of life and can cause distress.
Your child may have an anxiety disorder if:
• their anxious feelings don’t go away
• their anxiety seems to be out of proportion to the situation
• they are starting to avoid places or people
To learn more about this, Deni MHAG has engaged Way Ahead - an organisation that runs online anxiety seminars in rural areas.
Small Steps is an education program aimed at raising awareness and improving recognition of anxiety disorders in children.
Two seminars will run on August 16.
One will be specifically for teachers and staff working with children in stages one and two.
This session will run from 4pm to 5.30 pm.
Later the same day, from 7pm to 8.30pm, a seminar will be run for parents and carers of children in stages one and two.
Both these seminars are fully funded and will be free to all participants.
Although there are two seminars, content will be similar and should a session time suit better than the other, people can attend either.
These sessions are open to all members of the community, but you must book a spot to participate.
“There has been a good response to this initiative already, with spots already booked,” Deni MHAG member Lourene Liebenberg said.
“We encourage anyone interested to jump online and book their spot.”
Use the scanner code in the ad on page 6 of today’s edition, or go to https://www.eventbrite.com.au/cc/small-steps-28229.
Anyone can join the Families Stronger Together Facebook group. Information and resources are posted at least twice per week.
• Anyone requiring crisis support can contact Accessline on 1800 800 944, Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14, BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. Resources and support information are also available at www.denimentalhealth.org.au.
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