We chat with Samuel about his experience of being transgender and how Single Parents can best support their children who may be questioning their gender.

Following a recent YAA Focus Group Session with Public Health Wales we chat with YAA Katie Law as she opens up about the value of sleep and the difference it makes.

The MHM team met up with our Youth Action Academy for some reverse mentoring to hear about the issues that are really impacting them and what we can do to better support our young people.

We chat with Liv Pollard about their experiences of being a young person with ADHD and the changes they would make to help school children.

When we talk about family, we often picture a nuclear image: two parents, a couple of children, a shared home. But for many young people, that image doesn’t reflect their reality.

That’s what inspired the “What Does Your Family Look Like?” pilot project. At networking events SPW staff noticed how uncomfortable some young people felt when conversations turned to their home life.

This Pride Month we chatted with Toni at GoodVibes about the events and support they offer young people in the LGBTQIA+ Community in Swansea.

In honour of Pride this month, James Lindsay (our Youth Action Academy member)  has written an informative blog covering the history and reasons why millions of people around the world stand with people in Pride. 

This Pride Month and ahead of School Diversity Week we speak with Lily from Just Like Us about the incredible resources and services they have for parents, carers, schools and young people.

This blog is to raise awareness of what children from single parent households need to thrive!  Our 2025 Youth Action Academy members (young people from single parent households age 16-24) have shared what they think a child living in a single parent household needs to go on to have a mentally healthy future. These were the 8 core themes running through all of their answers:

Connection with others with shared experience, emotional support, a safe, environment, clear communication, educational support, positive experiences, positive relationships and mental health support.

Ruth tells us about her daughter having an eating disorder at 12 and how Ruth became a part of her daughter’s recovery. Training as a coach and wanting to support other families and parents on their journey. Ruth talks about a Body Happy Wales and her plans to set up a charity.

Netflix’s Adolescence has got families talking — about the dangers online, knife crime, toxic influencers and the rise of misogyny both offline and online. The series shines a light on what growing up in a digital world really looks like for young people today. It’s sparked powerful conversations in the Single Parents Wellbeing community about screen time, social media, peer pressure, and how we protect and support our kids in the online world.

Below, we’re sharing real thoughts from single parents and young people, along with practical advice and ideas drawn from their lived experiences. Because when it comes to tech, parenting and adolescence — we’re all learning together.

Over the past eight months Talia, the Volunteer Manager of the Youth Action Academy (YAA) has been coproducing a ‘Reverse Mentoring’ session.  This involves the young people of the Academy talking to the staff working on the Mental Health Manifesto (MHM) project about their experience of certain topics.  All of the Youth Action Academy members are from single parent households and so have a unique perspective to share with us.  

Natalie Coombs, Lead service manager talks to us about Platfform, a mental health and social change charity and it’s work on the Power Up Project - providing frontline wellbeing support to young people experiencing challenges with their mental health.

Anne-Marie, Wales Development Manager talks to us about Plan International, a global children’s charity striving for a fairer world, their recent project Champions of Wales building a network of champions of equality in their communities and how they’re tackling gender based violence.

Gass talks to us about Afrizon Bespoke Service, an organisation providing information and community support for childcare and batch cooking for families and how offering respite to families in need can make a difference.

Emma talks to us about Place2Be, an organisation providing in-school emotional support to children and young people for 30 years. The importance of art as a way to build positive social and emotional connections and why they’re getting their trainers on in August!

It’s really hard dealing with our emotions around being a single parent. We wanted to put some practical and useful advice around how to support children having nightmares, plus we wanted other single parents to know that they aren’t alone with tackling this issue.

Let’s have a look at why we dream and have nightmares.

Here is how to make a super simple meditation / mindful jar.

Have you got fond memories of being read to, escaping into books or would you not be seen dead with a book in your hand?Whatever your experience, I can promise the benefits of reading together with your child far outweigh any negatives. This is why I wanted to start with why reading matters, before moving in to books I use in my Play Therapy practice and at home with my son. Reading means that children are introduced to people and families that do and don’t look like them. Their minds are broadened, their ideas sharpened and their potentials and possibilities unlocked. If you’re not a big reading fan, audio books TOGETHER and read aloud on YouTube (other streaming channels are available!) will have a similar effect.