I talk a lot on this blog about adult mental health, but children’s mental health is equally as important.
Our situation
I haven’t talked much about this on the blog before, but I frequently post about our situation on social media to help others. Our little one is on a waiting list for an ADHD assessment. I attended some training with a local ADHD charity and one of the things they mentioned is that ADHD brains need 10 positive things, or sayings for every 1 negative event that occurs, or something they perceive as negative.
I am now always mindful that it’s more important for my child to have positivity around her. And I don’t just mean being happy all the time or positive for the sake of it. I mean targeted and meaningful exercises such as age-appropriate mindfulness videos and workbooks.
Check out the NSPCC website for more information on why they believe children’s mental health is so important.
Resources I have found particularly helpful
The journey our family is on might be something I decide to talk more about in future. For now, we are in the midst of the referral pathway journey and it’s difficult. I also feel like it isn’t my journey to share and that some things need to remain private.
Over the last 18 months, I’ve been in dark places, feeling alone on this journey. Because nobody else understands and the help that should be available, from doctors and the local authority is lacking.
I have therefore collated my own resources and I want to share them with you…
My Happy Mind
The other day, I was scrolling through Facebook when my little one started getting very excited because she saw an ad for My Happy Mind.
Her school are adopting these resources to use at school and they even have a poster outside the school gates.
She spoke extensively about the characters and the work they had done.
I have a lot of thoughts about school policies, particularly attendance. But on this subject, our school are doing well.
I will take that as a positive!
Films – Inside Out
If you have a 5-year-old child like me, I’m sure you have seen the film. We must have watched them as a family about 50 times.
But the message is amazing. My little girl asks me whether we all have voices or characters in our head to help us.
We have a Joy teddy and she chose an anxiety Pop recently as a toy for doing well with her rewards stars.
We even did a high ponytail hairstyle and all her classmates commented on how she looks like anxiety.
The point is, that the film is a great way to introduce both positive and negative emotions to young children.
And I am happy to hear they are talking about the films amongst themselves when they are at school.
Children’s Mental Health Week – Place2Be
Check out the website, where you can find free resources for families and your fundraising pack if you want to set up an event to raise funds for the charity.
Read on for lots more resources to help your children look after their mental health…
Resources for Parents
I have collated some websites with great resources for parents. If your child is struggling or you want any information to pass on to friends and family, check out the links below.
Mindfulness for Children
I wanted to include some videos that are useful for practising mindfulness with your children.
Books for children to help with mental health
You can read more about children’s books related to mental health and emotions in this book review section of my blog.
Why not check out the below blog posts:
My fave parenting blog posts:
20 RELATABLE BLUEY PARENTING MOMENTS WE LOVE
DOWNLOADABLE WORKSHEETS AND LEARNING BOOKS FOR AGES 4-7
IS GENTLE PARENTING EFFECTIVE? READ OUR STORY
5 THINGS THAT HAPPENED WHEN WE STARTED GENTLE PARENTING
HELPING LITTLE KIDS MANAGE BIG EMOTIONS
14 AGE-APPROPRIATE CHORES TO ENCOURAGE INDEPENDENCE
Summary
I hope you found some useful resources in this post.
Please feel free to share any useful resources you use in the comments below.
