Mario Falcone has spoken about his determination to teach his son Parker, two, about mental health and being open with his feelings.
The former TOWIE star, 32, has been candid in the past about his own struggles with mental health and recently revealed that he tried to take his own life at the height of his fame on the ITVBe show, and he has now discussed his hopes for the future.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, he said: ‘I would never want Parker to go through the same emotions that I went through, a lot of the problems back when I went through them was that I didn’t feel like I could talk and it all felt a bit alien’.
His love: Mario Falcone has spoken about his determination to teach his son Parker, two, about mental health and being open with his feelings
Mario, whose sister Giovanna Fletcher is currently starring on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, recently revealed he tried to take his own life in a hotel room seven years ago, when he was faced with a barrage of hate and going through a split.
After making the attempt in a hotel, he said: ‘People might not know but Giovanna quite literally saved my life when I was at my lowest ebb. I was going through a break up and getting hate on social media and felt this was the only way out.’
As he moves on from his heartbreaking battle, he has detailed how important it is for him to emphasise to Parker that he must discuss his mental health without stigma.
Mario spoke to MailOnline after Parker was named ambassador for Mood Bears – a collection of colourful teddies built to help young people deal with their feelings and emotions, with each teddy representing different emotions.
His love: The former TOWIE star, 32, has been candid in the past about his own struggles with mental health and recently revealed that he tried to take his own life at the height of his fame on the ITVBe show, and he has now discussed his hopes for the future
The star shares Parker with his fiancée Becky Miesner, a make-up artist and salon owner from Essex, and they welcomed their son in November 2018.
Following his own struggles, Mario is naturally keen to show his son that he is not alone, and help ‘change the stigma’ around mental health.
He said: ‘I never want Parker to feel [the way I did]. I want him to always know he can talk to myself and Becky and want him to know that it’s perfectly normal to always have these emotions and that they are best solved when they are shared.’
Reaching out: Mario spoke to MailOnline after Parker was named ambassador for Mood Bears – a collection of colourful teddies built to help young people deal with their feelings and emotions, with each teddy representing different emotions
After speaking about his battle with trolls in the past, Mario insisted that something had to give with keyboard warriors and Internet bullies.
On being concerned about Parker growing up in the social media world, he said: ‘Of course, every parent at the moment is worried about social media with their kids…
‘I think it is something that is getting worse, but hopefully these big tech companies, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, along with our government will hopefully put in a system where trolling will be stopped…
Worries: On being concerned about Parker growing up in the social media world, he said: ‘Of course, every parent at the moment is worried about social media with their kids’
His boy: Speaking about how Mood Bears help with educating Parker, he said: ‘It is a very fun and interactive way to teach Parker about emotions, he loves the bears’
‘I think the only way you can really do that is by, maybe people have to put in their passport numbers or something like that when they set up one of these accounts, because then they have to be accountable for whatever they put on their pages.’
Speaking about how Mood Bears help with educating Parker, he said: ‘It is a very fun and interactive way to teach Parker about emotions, he loves the bears…
‘If you teach kids anything, counting, the alphabet, it has to be done in a way that has their attention and it’s fun, and I think kids look to things like teddy bears and toys for a sense of security, so it’s a way they feel safe and it’s fun…
‘So if you do it in that way where it’s not pressured and it is fun and interactive and friendly, it will make it a much easier process.’
His love: Mario has spoken in the past about his experiences with reality TV, and discussed how he would address the phenomenon with Parker
Mario has spoken in the past about his experiences with reality TV, and discussed how he would address the phenomenon with Parker.
He said: ‘Look, I think it’s one of them things, I would never tell him what he can and can’t do, that’s not my job as a parent, but I can give him advice…
‘That’s the important thing, I can always give him advice from my experience, and hope that he would take it on board, but if it is something he wants to do I would never stop him doing it, I would just advise him the best I can.’
Sweet! Parker is fronting the Mood Bears campaign