Shipping insurers and psychologists have teamed up to produce a new book for children missing their seafaring family members at Christmas.
The Swedish Club and Mental Health Support Solutions (MHSS) said Our Family and the Sea is a heart-warming story helping to bring crew members and their families together over the holiday season.
The book explores the stress of separation through the story of Angelo and Mutya, whose father goes to sea for many months aboard a cargo ship.
The story can be downloaded from the Swedish Club’s website and absent seafarers can read it to their children on video calls from vessels.
There will also be some printed copies.
During the story, older sibling Angelo is upset that his father is going to miss his birthday, while younger daughter Mutya dreams of a blue whale who takes her to sea to visit her father at work.
The children are supported by their mother, grandparents and friends as they work through their feelings and learn to understand their father’s life as a seafarer.
The picture book is beautifully illustrated and written in language for children under 10 years old.
Lorraine Hager, the Swedish Club’s loss prevention and marketing adviser, said the book is part of a project the club is working on to promote crew well-being.
“We identified the importance of mental health and diet and exercise, but I wanted to bring in another crucial aspect of the well-being of the crew, which is the family support,” she told TradeWinds.
“Being a Filipina, we have very strong family ties. And I think the strong emotional support from the family is very important in the well-being of a crew. Supporting families creates a positive ripple effect,” Hager added.
“When families are resilient and informed, seafarers can perform their duties with fewer distractions and a greater peace of mind.”
“I had a meeting with MHSS because I wanted to ask their expertise and also wanted to collaborate with them,” Hager explained. “They had this idea about the family and maybe doing a children’s book.”
“And then we brainstormed,” she said.
“I think MHSS has a really great input in the project that we’re doing. I’m really, really excited and happy about this project. And just in time for Christmas, it’s like giving a gift for the seafarers and their family,” Hager added.
Experienced author
The story was mainly written by MHSS chief clinical officer Guven Kale, who has already authored a series of books for seafarers about the mental health problems encountered at sea.
“But we all pitched in as a team,” MHSS managing director Charles Watkins said.
“We consulted our Filipino psychologists as well in Manila, our child developmental psychologists and our core team,” he added.
Kale said: “Working together on this book allowed us to bring a much-needed resource to life.
“It’s not just a tool for children to navigate their emotions — it’s a bridge that connects families, helping parents and kids understand and support one another despite the physical distance.”
Hager added: “My father is a soldier. I’m not a seafarer’s child but I can relate to the story because you don’t see your dad for a couple of months.
“For Filipino seafarers, they could have a contract for six months or a year.
“And that’s tough for both the father or the seafarer and the family,” she said.
Hager added the book has a good plot and a happy ending.
Dealing with emotions
Watkins told TradeWinds: “I think it’s a very hard thing for kids to experience, but also for seafarers.
“I think this book aims to help them grasp some of the unspoken emotions, some of the things that we don’t often share, that might seem difficult to share, that we might struggle with,” he added.
“And the book helps children develop a very healthy balance, a natural way of understanding these emotions.”
The children in the story are given a chance to explore their emotions and open up about them.
“And with that, to also give them pointers to what helps when you’re dealing with this. It’s never easy, but there are things that help. Connecting with the father and reading that book in itself is a way of helping,” Watkins said.
