Jules Sebastian is a super mum, and when it comes to having tough conversations with her kids about mental health, she doesn’t shy away.
WATCH Guy Sebastian says he’s “crazy proud” of wife Jules
The 41-year-old, her music legend husband Guy Sebastian and their two sons, Hudson, eight, and Archie, six, are currently in lockdown in their home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Unfortunately, Jules and Guy know all too well the effects of mental illness and suicide on a family.
Jules’ brother took his life 13 years ago, while the Choir hitmaker’s best friend lost his battle with mental health in 2018.
As a result, the couple make sure to always keep an open line of communication with their kids about how they’re feeling, particularly during lockdown.
“We always encourage our kids to just say how they feel and talk about it — and nothing is off limits,” Jules told The Daily Telegraph.
“Even though they’re little kids, their problems are just as big as ours are to us, so I just try and tread tenderly and listen and try to turn the little ship around and think about tomorrow — a new day.”
Jules said her sons often open up the most to her and Guy while getting put to bed at night – a bonding time which she described as “really, really special”.
“We put a meditation on so it’s calm, there’s beautiful music playing or doing some breathing exercises, and then it all just kind of comes out how they’re feeling,” she said.
It’s a subject that the couple are so passionate about that The Sebastian Foundation, founded by Guy and Jules, teamed up with youth mental health program Open Parachute last year.
The program enlists real teenagers to talk to kids about their personal struggle and aims to help young people deal with the prevalent issue of mental health.
“It teaches them how to deal with things and feelings and emotions,” Jules told WHO.
“These are not light subjects – it’s depression and anxiety and eating disorders and bullying and some of these things like social media, we didn’t have to deal with as teenagers.”
With Guy busy filming The Voice and recording in the studio, the majority of the boys’ homeschooling has been left to Jules.
“People often think I am positive all the time — and I was like, ask my family because I mean, no one’s 100 per cent positive, 100 per cent of the time,” she admitted.
While they try to stay on the same page as much as possible, the pair admit that sometimes they disagree on the best way to parent their children.
“If we do disagree on something, we try to have a private conversation about that and not discuss that in front of the children because then they’re kind of involved in the weakness of the whole situation,” Jules told New Idea earlier this month.
Guy emphasised one thing they would never do is fall into the “good cop/bad cop” trap.
“You naturally gravitate towards wanting to have them like you. So it’s tough when you’re just being that one parent that’s letting the other be the one that isn’t liked all the time,” he said.
