Helping kids through books
Writer learned to manage her anxiety. Now, she’s targetting children’s mental health with a new tour.
London-based Kiwi author Avril McDonald has used her own experiences to write a series of books aimed at raising awareness for children’s mental health. Now, she is heading home, to promote the Get Brave series to 30 schools from August 8-26.
WHAT’S YOUR HISTORY WITH KAPITI?
I had a wonderfully happy and emotionally safe upbringing on the coast with a great community. Though I travel a lot and live in different countries, the Kapiti Coast is home for me and my ultimate favourite place to be.
WHAT DREWYOU INTO THE FIELD OF CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH?
I had my first panic attack when I was eight, and at that time, no one really spoke about mental health or knew much about it. Doctors made me feel like I was crazy. It wasn’t until years later, when my sister was training to be a nurse, that she brought home some photocopied material which explained everything I had experienced, I felt so relieved and [realised] that I wasn’t alone. This new information gave me an insatiable curiosity about the mind/body connection, and I found techniques such as neurolinguistic programming and cognitive behavioural therapy which really helped. I also found the world famous coach Tony Robbins (whose work uses many similar sorts of techniques), and I was astounded by the impact that his books and exercises had on not only my ability to manage my anxiety but in helping me reach my own creative potential. I wondered why we were not teaching these sorts of techniques to children and felt curious about how we might be able to create something that really speaks to kids and gives them strategies to help them cope in life. When my daughter had her first nightmare, managing it came very easily to me from all the techniques that I had learnt myself in managing my own anxiety. I realised then that I might be able to help other children by sharing these sorts of strategies and others, using characters, poems and stories so I took on the huge challenge seven years ago to try and create something along the lines of ‘Peppa Pig meets Tony Robbins’.
HOW MUCH OF AN ISSUE IS IT IN NEWZEALAND?
Four per cent of under-14s in New Zealand have been diagnosed with emotional or behavioral issues. In a 2012 health survey, one in six adults had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder of some kind in their lives. Global trends show that mental health issues are only increasing.
WHAT MESSAGE DO THE BOOKS PROMOTE?
Each book tells a story about a real life situation that children may face and gives them a really simple strategy to cope with it.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?
I have three new books in the pipeline, tackling obesity, personal safety and domestic violence. We are currently signing foreign rights deals, awareness is growing in schools and building in the mainstream and I’m in advanced discussions with some of the world’s largest global broadcasters and producers for an animated series.