This 11-year-old skipped school over climate anxiety. Here's how they're learning to cope

Nichole Huck · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 22, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Beautiful Mess is simply a bid that mines the contented of parents successful Saskatchewan who person experienced hard circumstances.

When Dennie Fornwald got a telephone astatine enactment connected a Friday greeting that her 11-year-old hadn't shown up to school, the Regina pistillate felt sick to her stomach. 

The school, her friends and household and yet the constabulary were each retired searching for her child. 

Police yet located the Grade 6 pupil extracurricular the Saskatchewan legislature. 

Kiké, who uses they/them pronouns, had printed disconnected tiny flyers astir clime alteration and was handing them retired to people. 

"That time and the days before, I felt truthful down and hopeless," Kiké said. "I had work books that enactment is the champion antidote for this. I felt determination was thing other I could do, truthful I went to the legislature alone."

Fornwald was connected an affectional roller-coaster that morning. 

"There was a portion of maine that was aggravated that they did this without asking and that they didn't deliberation astir the consequences, but mostly I was conscionable truthful relieved they were OK."

Fornwald and her hubby Kris Dueck felt bittersweet they hadn't realized conscionable however atrocious their child's clime anxiousness had become. They utilized this scary concern arsenic a teachable infinitesimal for the family.

"There wasn't a portion of maine that didn't recognize wherefore they did it," says Fornwald. "That's wherefore we truly knew we needed to assistance them find harmless and due action, but that they perfectly needed to instrumentality portion successful thing that was gonna marque them consciousness similar they had power."

From a emotion of quality to a interest for the planet

Kiké's emotion of each things successful quality started young. Their parent remembers them picking up a vertebrate publication astatine property three and looking astatine it for 3 hours straight. Kiké is an avid birder and has a keen involvement successful mushroom identification. They get immersed successful guides connected mushrooms, autochthonal plants and birds like different kids would with video games. 

Kiké says it was 2 years ago, astatine property nine, erstwhile they archetypal got a publication retired from the room astir clime change.

"I was amazed that beingness would conscionable spell connected arsenic mean erstwhile these unspeakable things are happening." 

The unspeakable things Kiké is talking astir is planetary warming,

"We are utilizing excessively overmuch and overexploiting the earth, which I consciousness volition pb to sedate consequences."

There is simply a word for what Kiké and galore different young radical are feeling — clime anxiety. A 2023 study successful the Journal of Climate Change and Health surveyed 1,000 young radical crossed Canada and recovered much than fractional the kids reported feeling afraid, sad, anxious and powerless. Kiké fits into the 37 per cent of kids who reported their feelings astir clime alteration negatively impacted their regular functioning. 

Fornwald says determination are days erstwhile Kiké loses their information to attraction astir day-to-day basics similar getting dressed and going to schoolhouse oregon being enthusiastic astir the sports they are progressive in. 

Kiké says determination are highs and lows.

"I consciousness atrocious due to the fact that I'm not feeling similar I'm doing capable oregon thing similar that. But past I yet consciousness amended and past I consciousness similar I'm not doing capable again and I'll conscionable rhythm connected and on."

Their anxiety tends to beryllium worse successful the summertime erstwhile the realities of clime alteration deed adjacent to home, whether that's owed to droughts or fires. Last year, Kiké had respective way meets cancelled due to the fact that of fume from wildfires.

"I had to enactment wrong for similar three days astatine a time, which is hard due to the fact that I truly emotion being outside."

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Turning interest into action

Kiké says what seems to assistance the astir is taking enactment with different people. 

They person connected with the section EnviroCollective, a clime enactment advocacy radical successful Regina. The 11-year-old has gone doorway knocking to cod signatures for a petition to beryllium delivered astatine the legislature. They've been portion of creation projects and podcasts centred astir clime change, and connected with groups specified arsenic Better Bus Youth. Kiké has besides go progressive with the Cathedral Forest Project, planting an municipality wood successful a parkland not acold from the family's house. 

Dueck and Fornwald have watched Kiké propulsion themselves into the wood project, collecting small sticks each clip they spell extracurricular to propagate caller trees. All their windowsills are present filled with tiny jars filled with babe trees that Kiké tends to religiously. 

"They assistance maine woody with clime anxiousness due to the fact that it's determination to enactment my attraction into that isn't excessively hard oregon far-fetched successful the future," explained Kiké.

Fornwald has recovered 1 situation is setting boundaries to support their kid safe, including prohibiting societal media. For now, Kiké has to find different ways to scope radical with their message. They're besides not allowed to skip schoolhouse and tin lone instrumentality portion successful protests erstwhile it doesn't struggle with their schooling. But Kiké's parents have agreed to thrust them to environmental meetings successful the evenings and be with them erstwhile possible. 

Fornwald said she thinks astir clime alteration activism the aforesaid mode she thinks astir mushroom collecting.

"If your kid wants to cognize everything astir mushrooms, you person to link with experts and you person to cognize thing yourself, truthful you tin beryllium safe. Climate alteration enactment is similar. We can't conscionable nonstop you retired into the satellite to tackle it connected your own — we've gotta spell with you."

Allowing country for vulnerability

Dueck said navigating this anxiousness travel has brought him person with his child. The 2 of them don't shy distant from honorable conversations about their intelligence health. Dueck acknowledges helium is trying to find a equilibrium betwixt protecting his child and allowing himself to beryllium susceptible astir his ain anxieties. Both of them said they consciousness person aft these candid conversations. 

"A batch of clip there's conscionable thoughts floating astir that truly can't spell distant and erstwhile I speech astir them retired loud, it truly helps," said Kiké.

Kiké is present moving with a nonrecreational counsellor, who's teaching the young activistic lessons successful self-care that volition service them successful the long-run. 

"It doesn't consciousness similar a nonstop action, but taking bully attraction of yourself similar sleeping, eating well, exercising, taking remainder erstwhile you request it is really an enactment due to the fact that we request you to beryllium good truthful we tin support doing the different things that person a immense impact," explained Fornwald. 

Following their child's pb  

While some parents said they've always cared astir the environment, Dueck said their oldest kid has pushed them to beryllium much accountable. They are mindful of driving little and biking to work. Their recycling strategy is elaborate, diverting astir each of their discarded to recycling and compost.  

"We are doing much reasoning astir these things and trying to beryllium amended citizens and people," Dueck said. "That's a acquisition parents tin take, that kids tin pb the mode successful a batch of ways and possibly sometimes we should travel them."

And Kiké has his ain contented to walk along.

"You don't person to instrumentality connected the full occupation by yourself, conscionable bash what you can."

Today, what they tin bash is attraction for these babe trees that person taken implicit their backmost array — caring and nurturing the world portion they attraction for and nurture each other. 

 Do you person parenting themes you'd similar to spot tackled? Do you cognize a genitor who has immoderate hard-earned contented to share? Email [email protected].