Looking after every child matters, now more than ever!

I’m guessing that many readers of this blog would not know who Ralph Ehrmann was. I include myself in this number. However, last week on the fabulous Radio 4 programme ‘Last Word’, I heard of his death on 10th January. He was 97 years old. Whilst I may not have known of him by name, I certainly knew about his wonderful contribution to my childhood. He was the man responsible for the hugely successful Airfix phenomena. Now you do need to be of a certain age to understand the attraction of Airfix models. During the 1960s and 70s Airfix was one of the UK’s leading toy manufacturers. The Airfix model kits being second only to Raleigh bikes in the hearts of children – me included!   

If I may beg your indulgence for a moment, I want to make a slight detour. In 1948 the Massey-Ferguson tractor manufacturer asked Airfix to produce a model of their new TE-20 tractor, later to become known as the ‘little grey Fergie’, as a promotional marketing item. It was a huge commercial success. Owning a ‘little grey Fergie’ has long been one of my life’s ambitions. I did very briefly actually own one, buying it on an eBay auction, but sadly never got to keep it for reasons you don’t need to know dear reader. I know one ought not to have regrets, but that was a life episode that hurt.

Anyway, back to the story, the model tractor kit inspired Ralph to make more models and the rest is history. For most of my childhood years I would get an Airfix model for birthdays and Christmas, and I loved them. I made countless aeroplanes (favourite was the Spitfire of course), cars (loved the British sports car range), and ships (I think it was the Golden Hind I first attempted). Each was built from a kit made up of parts that had to be first detached from a plastic frame, and then glued together using a solvent glue that probably would be banned today. 

Once completed, each model would be painted using little, tiny pots of paint with equally tiny paint brushes. Sadly, Airfix went bust in 1981, although you can still buy their model kits on eBay. The Airfix models, and the making of them was a wonderful part of my childhood.

I was reminded just how important the role of toys and play might have on the development of children and young people last week when I visited our children’s service, Treehouses. I knew straight away that this was a non-adult environment. The colours, pictures, furniture, and whole space was designed with children in mind. I couldn’t quite get to the bottom as to why the unit was called Treehouses, but there was a general jungle, farm, and zoo theme running through everything about the place. It was here that I met my first play therapist ever.

My first thought was what a dream job. However, playing with children, keeping them distracted, engaged and happy in times of anxiety, pain and separation from mum and dad is a real skill. Experience of my own grandchildren tells me I can manage that for a few hours before I’m glad to hand the children back to their parents. Indeed, I take my hat off to all my colleagues working with children and young people.

I was only able to see the in-patient services on this occasion, which given the wide age range of children being assessed and treated, I thought was simply wonderful. My next stop in a couple of weeks is to spend some time with my colleagues providing services to children and young people in our communities. It is something I’m really looking forward to.

Our children and young people are also our future. We are seeing across the world the potential impact on societies where the birth rate has fallen and there is a growing imbalance between an ageing population and a reduced number of people entering the workforce. For all countries it is critical that there are sufficient working-age individuals to drive the economy and ultimately support an ageing population.

In the UK, the birth rate has shown a steady decline over the past five years. I have no ideas as to how we address the downward trend in births, and actually I think I have done more than my fair share in adding to the population. That said, we need to do more to ensure our children have the best start in life possible. It would have been impossible to miss the launch last week by Her Royal Highness, The Princess of Wales, of the ‘Shaping Us’ awareness-raising campaign aimed at increasing the public’s understanding of the critical importance of the first 5 years of a child’s life. HRH Katherine said at the launch of the campaign ‘The way we develop, through our experiences, relationships, and surroundings during our early childhood, fundamentally shapes our whole lives. It affects everything from our ability to form relationships, thrive at work, and to our mental and physical well-being as adults and the way we parent our own children.’

If you have not yet seen the launch video capturing years of research in just 90 seconds, have a look here. Although it reminded me of those Lurpak advertisements from a few years ago, it is well worth a look. As is the Children’s Mental Health Week website. Next week is children’s mental health week – the theme of which is ‘Let’s connect) – making better connections with each other. Have a look, and even think how you might get involved. We can all make a difference, and now more than ever, looking after every child matters.