bethanbennettphotography

The Reason I Write Books

I have never liked the education system here in the UK. From about the age of 15 (when choosing my GCSE subjects and thinking about what I wanted to do in the future became a thing) I was adamant I was not becoming a primary school teacher. It was not happening. The heated discussions with my Dad about the education system began – teachers’ workload, the curriculum, children’s wellbeing, tests – the list goes on.

I always loved working with children and so knew I wanted to work with them but in what capacity I just did not know. I went to university to study Education and Childhood Studies and I loved it (most of the time!). During that period, the Welsh Government brought in something called the Literacy and Numeracy Framework, which brought back testing for 7 year olds onwards. From the age of 7, children are to sit tests every year for the next 10+ years. But I’ll leave my feeling about that there because that could be a whole other blog post topic. The point is, I didn’t/don’t like the system because I don’t feel it does enough to ensure children grow up with healthy minds as well as healthy bodies. From my experience of working in schools, it’s all outcomes, outcomes, outcomes. Results, results, results. I heard someone say recently that children are now starting school developmentally 18 months behind where they should be (Shonette BasonWood). To me, that is shocking. No wonder schools feel the pressure to get the results – they’ve got a hell of a lot work to do to meet the standards set by the government (to be fair, progress made from a baseline assessment are now being taken into account). But, I digress.

Did you know that:

  • Nearly 1 in 10 children and young people (YP) between the ages 5-16 are affected by mental health problems?
  • 4% of children and YP between ages 5-16 are anxious or depressed?
  • 70% of people who experience mental health problems do not receive the support needed?
  • 6 million people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder?
  • 80,000 children and YP suffer with depression – 2% of children under 12 will experience depression?

(Counselling Directory)

 Hands up if you are shocked by those stats? Both of my hands are well and truly up! I myself have suffered with anxiety and panic attacks from the age of 15 until I was 24! I know what it’s like and I think that’s where some of my passion comes from. I know how it can affect daily life. I remember working in a classroom where a child was suffering badly with anxiety and that was when I had a ‘light-bulb’ moment of what I want to do – I want to write children’s picture books with the aim of them being used as a resource to help children understand and process their thoughts, feelings and emotions. My hope is that my books, along with other practiced strategies can have a positive impact on children’s wellbeing. Young children are at a crucial stage in their development and what happens in their early years has a significant impact on who they become as adults (The Children’s Society). If they can process their emotions safely and begin to understand why they feel the way they do, in my opinion, they will grow to be far better citizens in society.

I always thought it would be cool to write my own children’s picture book but it was one of those ‘it will never ever happen’ dreams. I didn’t think I was creative or imaginative enough to write stories. But when my husband encouraged me to have a go I was pleasantly surprised with what my brain produced. For me, writing stories and the inspiration for stories come from a place of knowledge and understanding of children and their development as well as my passion for them – and that I love! Starting from this place has allowed my imagination to flow freely and I now love creating little worlds for characters and thinking what’s going to happen to them. Writing for wellbeing also has an element of research to it, which I also love.

(Now to hope a publisher actually wants to publish my stories!)

*Disclaimer: The content of this post is my opinion and based on my experiences. The statistics presented are fact and are appropriately referenced.

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