This week (9-15 February 2026) is children’s mental health week. The theme for this year is ‘This is My Place,’ focusing on fostering a sense of belonging in schools, homes and communities. The purpose is to highlight the importance of children and young people’s mental health and empower them to express their emotions, whatever they may be.
The mental health of our children and young people is so fundamentally important. It is something I am hugely passionate about. How can they thrive in school, at home and in our communities if we are not looking after their mental health or worse still not aware that their mental health is suffering. Children feel sad, angry, confused, worried and depressed just as we do. Yet often no one talks to them or offers the right tools to manage how they are feeling.
Following a parents separation or divorce, children go through their own grief process and are managing their own emotions as well as living with their parents varying emotions and the changes to their family which they have no control over but are often impacted by. They see the parent who is silently sad. They see the parent who is angry and (understandably) has less patience for them. They see their sibling who has withdrawn in their room, deeply worried and affected. Their home can sometimes no longer feel like a safe place or where they belong.
Children think their life is a mess and often feel this way when they are in the middle of their parents separation. So many children are living with changes that have been imposed on them as a result of their parents separation. Many have to move from homes that they have lived in throughout their childhood. Some have to move away from their friends and change schools. Yet, how often do we as family law professionals really think of these children? If parents consult a family law professional for advice and only want to discuss how to resolve the resolution of their finances and say, we have sorted out the arrangements for our children so we do not need advice, are we just making a note of that and moving on? Are we asking how the children are at every meeting or check in? Are we offering helpful resources and support? Most importantly, are we really engaged and child focused and making sure their parents know that their children have a fundamental right for their voice to be heard and there are family law professionals specially trained and dedicated to offering them a space to speak about changes which are happening to them?
In my work as a family mediator, I regularly meet with young people giving them a dedicated space to share their thoughts and feelings. I offer a safe space to talk about how they are feeling. This is so valuable. I sit with their pain and how they are feeling in that moment. I offer them space to vent, to cry, to be angry, to be quiet, to offload and share a bit of humour, whatever they need in that moment. Often they just need to be listened to. I see the invisible or hidden weight and pain lifting during those meetings. I am expanding my practice in 2026 to offer this space to children whose parents are not working with me in the mediation process but are perhaps resolving things through solicitors.
It’s vital we talk and listen to children to best support them. It says to that child or young person ‘you are valued, your thoughts matter and we will listen’ which can really help them get through a difficult time and hopefully there will be less children who look back and say ‘no one even asked me how I felt.’
I offer child consultations during school holidays, after school, evenings and at weekends to best suit the needs of the young people I see. Please get in touch with me on 07944 108298 or by e-mail at clare@claremadelinemediation.co.uk if you are a family law professional wanting to find out more about this service or you have a child who you think would benefit from this safe space with a professional who is completely child focused, down to earth, has experience of neurodiversity and children of all age groups.
I have also recently become aware of a fantastic initiative called ‘Your Direction’ who offer a free, five-session online programme for 12–30 year olds whose parents have separated or divorced. Your Direction workshops provide a safe, fully safeguarded and non-judgemental space where young people can:
- Talk openly about their experiences
- Meet others their own age who understand what they are going through
- Learn practical tools for communication, decision-making and emotional wellbeing
- Feel less alone as they navigate changes at home
Sessions are free, highly interactive, professionally facilitated, and designed to equip young people with life-enhancing skills. If you would like to find out more about this please contact me and I can share the brochure. You can book using the link below:-
