Photo: Danny Mayson-Kinder and her beautiful daughter Billie (front) and her sister Charlie (back)
The b kinder foundation has a mission- to spread kindness through every Northern Beaches school. And we all know that kindness has never been needed more.
Our children are facing a mental health crisis. As seen in the ACER Social-Emotional Wellbeing Survey, children are angrier, lonelier, more anxious and less able to control their emotions than they were five years ago despite the increased concern for their wellbeing. Children and adolescents have been reporting an increase in stress and anxiety every year from 2018 to 2023. As a parent, these are terrifying statistics.
But fortunately, the b kinder foundation offers preventative solutions.
I created the b kinder foundation to honour the legacy of my beautiful 12-year-old daughter Billie Kinder who died in a tragic accident in 2016. Capturing Billie’s beautiful way of being, along with her inspiring words and range of drawings, we teamed up with teachers and psychologists to produce empowering resources to connect with children. Children relate to Billie as she is a young student just like them and the story behind the resources is real.
Through early intervention, b kinder uses unique, positive programs and resources to initiate discussions surrounding emotions that can be difficult for the young to communicate and empowers children with a tool set of skills and strategies to help them develop an enriched sense of wellbeing, belonging and self-esteem.
Our strategies are proven to have a powerful impact. Data from an independent organisation evaluating statistical subjective wellbeing shows students from one of our b kinder schools had a 30% reduction in feeling angry, 18% increase in ability to make friends, 22% increase in ability to share thoughts and feelings with others, 13% reduction in feeling sad and unhappy and 14% increase in ability to adapt when unexpected events happen.
There are three easy ways that every Northern Beaches school can get involved.
- Implement our student ‘b kinder workbooks’ throughout primary school. The 4 b kinder workbooks have been designed for children from 3 years – 14 years. When asked if he liked the workbook, a grade 3 student replied: “Yes, I really like it because every time we use it and then go into the playground, everyone is nice to each other”.
- Becoming a ‘b kinder school’ which provides the student leadership team with the tools to inspire, empower, and role model their peers to become a kinder school community.
- Participation in our annual ‘b kinder day’. In June 2024 schools are invited to write kind messages in our b kinder cards and send them to friends and loved ones to show they matter.
As a parent, I know that you all want your children to experience kindness every day. I encourage you all to speak with your P&C, your teachers and your principals to let them know that b kinder resources are available. Also please feel free to email me directly to chat more at danny@bkinderfoundation.org and visit www.bkinderfoundation.org for more information.
Thank you so much for helping us to spread kindness!