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Daily, parents are faced with uncomfortable or difficult topics that eventually must be discussed with their children, whether it be regarding puberty, mental health or empathy and diversity. For that reason, Kenzie Butera Davis has created a start-up called “Maro” with an aim to help parents who do not know how to begin such important conversations.
If children knew more about puberty and mental health, starting from a younger age (for example 10y/o), many unnecessary actions could’ve been avoided without worsening anyones mental state. Many young girls find puberty a taboo topic and feel embarrassed when someone points out completely normal and natural things such as menstrual cycles, acne or overall hormonal changes. In the US, for example, this oftentimes creates a mental block in their head, which transforms to anxiety (a mental disorder) as they can get picked on or ‘bullied’.
Maro’s purpose is to educate younger generations (and not only!) regarding various situations that they’ll be faced with every day as they get older. A lot of parents don’t see the urgent need to educate their children regarding such mature topics even though they’re vital to know, especially during their pre-teen age. The focus of this app is the education regarding mental health, as that is something that many are struggling with nowadays, especially after the pandemic, and yet still fail to realise its seriousness.
The issue with mental health education in schools is that it doesn’t necessarily exist. In fact, mental health is not typically taken seriously by the education systems. This usually escalates to many children being looked down upon while they’re struggling and may also be harassed by their peers by being called “weaker” or “attention-seeking”. Is this due to the children not knowing the severity of what such actions and words may cause to the ones already struggling? Perhaps. For that reason, Maro was created; with hopes to solve the said problem.
In the US alone, 1 in 5 children between the ages of 10-24 struggle with mental health that leaves them with lifelong struggles if they remain untreated. In most cases, many are unable to seek professional help, due to their or their parents’ financial state as such treatment ends up being quite costly. In fact, 8/10 that go to therapy state that such expense is a great investment, yet 40% of those people admit to needing to seek financial support in order to be able to attend. `Due to this, many are forced to deal with their problems on their own.
Most common disorders diagnosed amongst younger children in 2020 would be anxiety (with 9.2% – around 5.6 million children) and depression with 4.0%- 2.4 million). The problem here is that many believe that anxiety is not as serious as depression, and as that may be somewhat true, it is still a disorder that limits children to live their life the way they wish they could.
To summarise, Maro was created as a solution to many people’s problems. Not to forget, Maro offers various information regarding many topics other than mental health, that being puberty, sex ed, diversity and respect etc. There’s an option for schools/teachers, parents and individuals. Yes, you do have to pay a small fee, but compared to the costs generated from going to a single therapy appointment, Maro is not only affordable for a lot more people but is also giving you, and the people around you the required education and tips on how to fight your troubles or generally live a better a life.
Do you wish you had Maro growing up? Or do you believe it will be a successful startup that will change people’s lives for the better?
Sources:
Research Update: Children’s Anxiety and Depression on the Rise
Maro’s new app looks to help schools screen kids for depression and anxiety
https://www.meetmaro.com
https://www.forbes.com/sites/afdhelaziz/2021/02/04/how-innovative-app-maro-is-helping-parents-have-those-difficult-conversations-with-their-kids/?sh=6b622f4d412d
I totally agree with this article. As children grow up, they receive countless messages about self-esteem, well-being, and mental health. . Many mental health symptoms first emerge by adolescence, but many adults miss the key warning signs that their children are struggling. That is the way I think it is necessary that school would take such education seriously.
I believe Maro could be a great solution in the upcoming years. You’re right, these days certain schools do not give the kind of education regarding adolescence, like puberty or sex-ed- whilst it being crucial knowledge for, ex, young girls (but not only). This could be a successful startup if it was soon taken into the spotlight.