Dear UK Government, This week I received a reply from the Ministerial and Public Communications Division. I recently wrote to the Secretary of State for Education regarding supporting children & young people struggling to navigate their grief and mental health through COVID-19. My letter was written as someone that has lived the experience of childhood grief and the murder of my father. It was written as someone that has struggled with their mental health as an adult. I wanted to highlight with the government that if grief and mental health isn’t properly supported during the early school years, then we will have a nation of future adults walking the streets with mental health struggles in the years to come. My...
Today I spoke on BBC Radio Sussex about Father’s Day and how we can help grieving children on what can be a very difficult day for thousands of children. For many years I wouldn’t even think about Father’s Day, I wouldn’t even acknowledge it. But when I became a dad myself, that’s when Father’s Day meant something again. It’s like the other key dates across the year, like the day my dad died; they’re points where I take an opportunity to reflect on my dad and remember him. I try not to view it negatively, but it is hard. It’s hard when you see all the Father’s Day adverts and emails coming in. To any grieving children facing Father’s Day...
Here’s an image of Natalie Lee (Style Me Sunday) holding a copy of my children’s book written for my mixed-race daughter, Thea. Only a very small percentage of British children’s books feature a main character who is black or minority ethnic. In a research project that was the first of its kind, and funded by Arts Council England, the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) asked UK publishers to submit books featuring BAME characters in 2017. Of the 9,115 children’s books published that year, researchers found that only 391 – 4% - featured BAME characters. Just 1% had a BAME main character, and a quarter of the books submitted only featured diversity in their background casts. This compares to...
On 17 April 2011, I became a father for the first time. I was a dad to a baby boy, Otis. To hold your child for the first time is a magical moment, but for me it felt extra special. All of my emotions and heartache had washed away at that moment, and all I felt was love for this baby. I had never really thought about the emotional legacy of my father’s murder until I became a father myself. Since becoming a dad, I have always known that the time will come when I will have to sit down with my children to tell them what happened to Grandpa. Otis has recently been asking questions about where Grandpa is...
As a dad of two dual heritage children, I know how important it is that we continue increasing the visibility of diversity in children’s literature in the UK. In 2016, I published the first children’s story that I wrote for my son, Otis Lemon and the Magic Scooter. Diversity in kids’ literature didn’t even cross my mind until I had my own children, I wanted to inspire them and tell them amazing tales with characters that looked like them. Of the 9,115 children’s books published in 2017, researchers found that only 4% featured BAME characters. Just 1% had a BAME main character, and a quarter of the books submitted only featured diversity in their background casts. This compares to the 32.1%...