TPP 392: Cara Bean on Comics and Mental Health for Kids

TILT Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

Debbie Reber

Education, Parenting, Kids & Family

4.8 • 983 Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2024

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As my guest said in the episode you’re about to listen to, you don’t have to be a mental health professional to have mental health conversations. In fact, I would say that talking about difficult mental health topics outside of medical settings is not just helpful — it’s necessary in that it both normalizes mental health challenges and reduces the stigma that’s often associated with such struggles. Author and Illustrator Cara Bean also knows this to be true, and is committed to exploring these topics through her art, specifically comics. Cara sees comics as a powerful tool both for teens to learn about mental health, and for parents to lean on for important conversations about complex topics. Which is exactly why she wrote her new book, Here I Am, I Am Me: An Illustrated Guide to Mental Health. Every chapter in this therapist-recommended book explores a different aspect of mental health, from the brain and the mind, to feelings and emotions. By portraying complex neuroscience concepts with a cast of illustrated characters, Cara offers an accessible, approachable understanding of what’s going on in the brain that empowers readers. I really love Cara’s book and so wanted to have her on the show to talk about her process for writing it, and how we can use it to support kids going through hard stuff. So in this conversation, Cara explained the way she visualized thoughts and feelings, why she felt so strongly about including detailed brain science in her book, and the power of metaphors to explain the impacts and struggles of addiction, depression, anxiety, and suicidality, making these heavy topics more relatable and easier to understand. About Cara Bean Cara Bean is the author of Here I Am, I Am Me: An Illustrated Guide to Mental Health and Draw 500 Funny Faces and Features. She provides interactive workshops on creativity with people of all ages and backgrounds in various public forums. Cara is passionate about drawing and believes that the simple act of doodling on paper can lead to the investigation of complex ideas. When she is not teaching, she makes comics that delve into poetic self introspection, playful storytelling and topics relevant to teens and teaching. Cara is currently working on comics projects that speak directly to kids and address mental health. Cara lives in Massachusetts with her husband and their dog Raisin. Things you'll learn How comics can provide an honest and accessible way to discuss complex issues The benefits of visualizing thoughts and feelings through thought bubbles and metaphors for enhancing understanding Why Cara felt so strongly about including detailed brain science in the book in order to foster understanding of emotional health and reactions How Cara leaned into the power of metaphors to explain the impact and struggles of things like addiction, depression, anxiety, and suicidality Why Cara wrote her book Here I Am, I Am Me for, and how different readers might approach engaging with it Resources mentioned Cara Bean’s website Here I Am, I Am Me: An Illustrated Guide to Mental Health by Cara Bean Draw 500 Funny Faces and Features by Cara Bean Snakepit graphic pamphlet for adults John Porcellino (King-Kat Comics) The Breakthrough Years: A New Scientific Framework for Raising Thriving Teens by Ellen Galinsky Ellen Galinsky Takes Us Through The Breakthrough Years and Raising Thriving Teens (Tilt Parenting Podcast) Graphic Medicine Bill Waterson (Calvin & Hobbes) The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence by Jessica Lahey Jess Lahey on Her New Book The Addiction Inoculation (Tilt Parenting Podcast) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Summer can be such a tricky time for parents of differently wired kids.
0:04.0	Finding ways to keep kids active and learning over the break,
0:07.0	whether at home or on vacation, it can be hard.
0:10.0	Fat Brain Toys is a family-run business that has been curating and creating quality toys, games, and gifts that both entertain and educate for more than 20 years.
0:19.0	Almost all of Fat Brains toys and games are screen free, and what I love about them is they encourage kids to get creative and explore the world around them through open-ended play.
0:29.0	I'm especially drawn to this really cool product called Mr. Bendy. It's a sturdy yet bendable
0:33.9	figure with poseable arms, legs and eyes. It comes with wax bendy sticks that you can
0:39.0	use to turn Mr. Bendy into really anything an astronaut, a guitarist, a pirate pirate and you can play it as a game
0:45.2	with the sand timer and game tokens or you can set those aside and just engage in
0:50.2	open-ended play to explore things like spatial reasoning, creativity, and observation skills.
0:55.6	I think what I love most about Mr. Bendy is it offers an easy and fun way for parents to connect
1:00.3	with and support their neuro-diversein kids in exploring social and
1:03.9	emotional learning. Also, you know that I love a mission-driven company. Well,
1:08.2	Fat Brain Toys is made up of families who want to make life better for
1:11.5	other families.
1:12.6	It was founded out of the desire of two parents
1:15.0	to provide better play experiences for their kids,
1:17.5	so their aim is to support you in doing the same.
1:20.2	Fatreen is a new sponsor of Tilt Parenting and they've put together a collection of toys for our families.
1:25.3	Go to W.W. dot Fat Brain Toys.com slash tilt to get 10% off all the items in the tilt collection when you use the code tilt at checkout
1:35.2	and find out for yourself why fat brain toys is a smarter way to play.
1:40.1	You don't have to be a mental health professional to have mental health conversations.
	...

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