#AVeryDifferentConversation | A young person’s view
My friend went through a lot last year, her parents got divorced, her gran died and she struggled with all the coursework and exam revision.
Our friends started to notice she wasn’t herself, she got upset easily and didn’t want to meet up like normal.
We done what we could to make her feel better but it just wasn’t enough, we told her to tell someone how she felt but she was worried about upsetting her mum and didn’t want to get in trouble with school or whatever.
We saw less and less of her and she started to get quite sick.
If this model was around then we wouldn’t have had to worry about who was the right person to talk to, we could have spoken to our teacher, school nurse or even the youth club leader and we know we would have been taken seriously.
They could have stepped up or given early advice to help us to know what to do or what to say or even know how to support her in a way that actually helps so we didn’t feel quite so useless,
As teenagers we worry about being judged. No one wants to carry around a label.
So, adults that have time to listen and the skills to have a good conversation would just make such a difference.
You can find more information on the #averydifferentconversation children, young people & families page.
