Young people are exposed to more peer pressure and negativity than ever due to mobile phones and social media, but a mindfulness book ‘Rhymefulness for Amazing Kids’ by Neil Kerber, a three times award-winning national newspaper cartoonist from London is looking to address this though funny cartoons.

Neil Kerber, said: “I feel very strongly that this younger generation has far more of an emotional and stressful journey than we had to cope with growing up. We didn’t have mobile phones, the internet, and social media, life was a lot simpler back in the old days.”

He added: “As a dad to two teenage princesses I see how the world these days is a lot more pressurised and complex for them as they are growing up. Social media, instantly accessible from a mobile phone, means a 24/7 stream of opinions about what they ‘should’ wear, do and like, or even hateful and bullying behaviour.”

Neil said: “I have worked with kids, from cartooning sessions at Great Ormond St Hospital, to pupils at a large busy secondary school. I’ve seen how both reading, and drawing cartoons can really have a positive impact on their emotional and mental health.”

He added: “But to benefit from that, you need to unglue your kids from their phones first, and mindfulness can help with this. So, I created ‘Rhymefulness for Amazing Kids’, a book of mindful cartoony rhymes.”

Neil said: “It is an A5 size book with approximately 32 pages, filled with fun cartoony poems, and Mindfulness doodling exercises at the back. Which is a good way to keep late primary school kids to younger teens off their screens for five minutes. My book also gives them useful advice, like blocking people who are being hateful and not to be too strongly influenced by ‘influencers’ – which is something we as adults could learn from too!”

He added: “I wanted to create something unique and meaningful that sends a truly positive message to our younger generation. Cartoons are an incredibly powerful tool in getting a message across. I hope this book sends positivity and fun out to our future generation!”