Mental Health Awareness Month – Asking for Help is a Strength, Not a Weakness

By Kerrie Gottliebsen

This national Mental Health Awareness month, and World Mental Health Day (Oct 10^th), Tweddle would like to remind parents that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.

The foundations for good mental health start in infancy and travel along a continuum throughout life. Many different factors shape mental health such us our environment, past experiences, sleep, diet, support networks and resilience.

Tweddle works with parents to provide support for their mental health. It’s vital that parents look after their mental health and well-being. As they say, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Seeking guidance, reassurance and connection helps in the role of parenting, as does mindfulness and slowing down.

Parents’ Positive Mental Health

A parent’s positive mental health and secure attachment with their baby or toddler provides the foundation for a child’s mental health and positive outcomes later in life. These include cognitive, emotional, and social outcomes.

Secure attachment is defined by a sense of security in infants whose caregivers respond to their distress in a consistent, caring and timely manner.

Tweddle Clinicians share programs and education like the Circle Of Security’s ‘Shark Music’ video with families to help them identify mental health triggers. It’s really important that mums and dads seek support if they need help connecting and engaging with their babies and young children.

The World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH) have released a position paper on the rights of infants to highlight the unique needs of babies and toddlers compared to those of older children when it comes to childhood mental health.

The position paper focuses on the first three years of life and the impact of early experience on the development of the infant brain and mind. It reminds us that an all too-common view is that the baby is “too small to really understand or to remember” and thus the baby’s perspective is often not appreciated by health professionals and even by parents.

What is often misunderstood, is that babies and toddlers have unique nonverbal ways of expressing themselves and their capacities to feel, to form close and secure relationships, and to explore the environment and learn.

Mental health, secure attachment and relationships

Tweddle’s Early Parenting Practitioners focus on the unique needs of babies, toddlers and their families. Underpinning that focus is strengthening infant mental health, secure attachment and relationships.

This National Mental Health month, Tweddle would like to remind parents to take care of their mental health and wellbeing. Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. The following organisation can help you navigate the early years feeling supported and confident. If you need support, call:

Early Parenting Help Lines & Websites

Tweddle (03) 9689 1577 during business hours M-F

Parentline 13 22 89

The Maternal and Child Health Line 13 22 29

Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 (online chat and in-person)

LifeLine 13 11 14

PANDA 1300 726 306

Pregnancy Birth and Baby helpline  1800 882 436 available 7 days a week over the phone or via video call between the hours of 7am and midnight.

ForWhen Helpline Call 1300 24 23 22

Support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families  13YARN – Call 13 92 76 | 24 /7 Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

Pride Centre – Rainbow Families Victoria

Switchboard Victoria – This is a telephone counselling, information and referral service for LGBTIQ+ people in Victoria. Phone 1800 184 527, 3 pm-midnight, seven days a week.