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OUR EXPERT ADVISORS

Marie O’Sullivan Teacher, Counsellor and I.T. Trainer www.sparkleshimmer andshine.co.uk

Matthew Barnes-Smith. Coach and Mentor for Young People www.lifecoachdirectory.org.uk/lifecoaches/ matthew-barnes-smith

Izabella Natrins Nutrition and Lifestyle Health Coach www.izabellanatrins. com

Cath Lloyd Life Change Therapist and Stress Relief Consultant www.cathlloyd.co.uk

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YOUNG MINDS

motivational videos on my YouTube channel to help you along.

https://youtu.be/RhJ9csy2cf4

I hope you enjoy reading this article. I tell children, remember that, ‘You are Amazing and You are Capable of more than you know….and Don't Forget that!’

We have a fabulous opportunity for you to WIN a copy of Amazing Angel’s book

Make It Happen - 5 Steps to Dreaming Big

simply email

competitions@positivekids.co.uk

by 18 April 2019

with your name and address and Amazing Angel in the subject line

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A fun fi lled family day of interactive and inspiring activities and stalls

Sunday 30th JuneNottingham Racecourse

To fi nd out more go to: www.positivelyempoweredkids.co.uk Book your Early Bird tickets by 30th April

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SUKI LET KIDS KASAS BE KIDS

think because she is my youngest but also because it is so against what society says you ‘should’ do to a little girl’s hair. I made myself face it head on and really delve into why I felt so sad about it and there was no valid reason why she shouldn’t do it. I took her to get her hair cut and within seconds of the clippers touching her hair she was a new person. Her face lit up and she looked free. She looked as though she had found herself and how she felt most comfortable, and it was beautiful.

By Catherine Kasas

Suki has had a strong mind and a definite sense of self since the moment she was born. She never went through the usual princess phase (that her older sister definitely went through) and she knew exactly what she was comfortable in. At her nursery, they held a charity Superhero dress up day and we borrowed some Batman pyjamas as we didn’t have anything suitable. Suki caught the bug, the Superhero bug! She soon had every dressing up outfit imaginable from Captain America to PJ Masks (Catboy of course) and would wear nothing else.

When she started school, she wore a pinafore dress until she broke her elbow and had to switch to trousers and I’ve never been able to switch her back and that was when I thought, why should I? One day she was lying on the sofa and she said, ‘Mummy I feel sad every day because I have long hair and I want short hair like the boys.’ Surprisingly I

Most of the children who have started school with her are obviously just used to this being what Suki looks like and have never questioned it, but we had one incident that actually upset her. A few of the girls questioned whether she was a girl or a boy, that within itself was fine and she was used to it but when she said she was a girl they said, ‘You can’t be because girls like pink and princesses.’ Her answer was, ’Well I’m a boy then.’ School approached us to find out how we were handling the situation and whether we referred to her as a girl or a boy and although I was shocked to be having the conversation, I was glad they came to me. It opened up the discussion with Suki and allowed us to explain to her the differences between boys and girls and that except for anatomy, there are few. We said if she wasn’t comfortable saying she was a girl she could say she was a tomboy and she was thrilled to have her own little word to describe herself without having the usual labels that she clearly didn’t fit into.

Suki is a girl and it is our job to make sure she can be proud of being a girl,

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TRY THIS

By Chrissy B

1) What is the #MHDChallenge? How does it work? The MHDChallenge stands for Mental Health Dance Challenge. It is the world’s first ever dance challenge in support of mental health. Funky music and powerful dance moves depict the fight back against depression and other mental health issues.

There are various ways you can take part, but the very first step is to watch the official dance video and tutorial which you can find on www.chrissybshow.tv/mhdchallenge. The dance has a more challenging part and an easier part. You can choose to do either or both parts. Then it’s really up to you where you take it from there. For example, you can record yourself doing the dance and post it on social media to challenge others, or you can organise a fun day at school, college or university and use the dance as a conversation starter and then get everyone trying the dance, or even put together a well-being morning at your workplace. There are lots of possibilities.

2) Why did you decide to create the challenge? Have you always loved dancing? Having been through depression, panic attacks and other mental health issues for seven years, but now fully recovered, I know that talking about these issues can be really hard due to the fear of being stigmatised. So, I wanted to create something fun that anyone could take part in but that would be a good conversation starter. I want to encourage people not to let depression (and other mental health issues) take over their lives and to fight back. The dance also aims to bring a wider understanding of mental health to the general public by getting more people talking about it. I wouldn’t call myself a dancer so this challenge was quite out of my comfort zone but I was willing to jump in because I knew it would help a lot of people.

3) You have amazing dancers in the YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =CHX8A4KISIs Where are they from? Where was the video filmed, it looks like you had great fun. Who's the music by? I had an idea of what I wanted for the

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