Children's Mental Health Week

Annie_Scope · January 30

It's Children's Mental Health Week this week (3rd - 9th February). What a great way to raise awareness of Children's Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Each year the charity Place2Be run and organise this event to raise funds, and encourage people to get involved in spreading awareness of mental health in children and young people. Statistics show that 1 in 6 children aged 5-16 are likely to have mental health issues, and this is increasing.

In 2015, Place2Be launched their first ever Children's Mental Health Week, to highlight the importance of children and young people's mental health. This years focus is Know Yourself, Grow Yourself. Place2Be aim to equip and empower children, young people, families and schools to recognise and work through mental health problems.

What is Mental Health and why is it important?

Mental Health describes our emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel and act, and can affect the way people cope with day to day life.

It is important to remember we can all feel all sorts of emotions sometimes, and this is normal. But when those feelings won't go away and they start to become overwhelming and affect day-to-day life, that is when it might become a problem.

Mental health awareness is important to ensure children and young peoples safety and wellbeing. Mental health can impact all aspects of their life, including their physical well-being, relationships and education.

How to help children and young people?

As parents and carers, there are ways you can support your child;

Encourage your child to talk about their feelings from a young age.
Talk about feelings and emotions within your day to day family life, to normalise these.
Talk about good mental health and wellbeing i.e. good diet, being active, reducing screen time, talking to friends/family and getting enough sleep.
Connect with your child, be part of there day to day life showing interest in their interests.
Build positive family rules and boundaries.
Look after your own mental health.

This year, Children’s Mental Health Week has joint forces with Here4You, exploring the importance of self-awareness and expressing emotions. They have used characters from the Pixel films Inside Out and Inside Out 2, to build resources to encourage children and young people to build resilience, grow and develop.

Have a look though the resources, linked below, and share with your schools, family and friends.

https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/resources/

Children's Mental Health Week

More links to information and support for children and young people

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