Letting your child know it’s OK not to be OK with Esther Marshall

The number of children being referred to NHS mental health services in England for anxiety has hit the highest level ever recorded, according to a Guardian investigation. Our guest today is mum-of-three Esther Marshall whose beloved sister Rebecca committed suicide as a result of anxiety. She has bravely turned this into something positive in a bid to help children avoid harmful stereotypes - creating a series of children’s books called Sophie Says which celebrate a world where kids grow up never doubting whether they are included. Having worked in diversity and inclusion for Unilever, Esther was shocked when she went on maternity leave and discovered a lack of diversity in the books she read to her son Asher so she decided to write her own books showing that both girls and boys can achieve anything that they set their minds to and that it’s sometimes okay not to be okay.