Children’s Mental Health Week- 3-9 February 2025

Children’s Mental Health Week- 3-9 February 2025

The focus of the annual awareness week this year is Know Yourself, Grow Yourself.

 

Place2Be have partnered with Here4You, supported by the Walt Disney Company to provide resources featuring the characters of Pixar’s Inside Out and Inside Out 2, to encourage young people to discover how getting to know themselves can help them to grow.

 

(The more we understand about ourselves, the better we’re prepared to tackle life’s ups and downs!)

 

In Manchester, there’s events taking place across the city’s schools, including coffee mornings, special wellbeing assemblies and lessons.

Get involved

Here’s some tips for families, to help children understand and share their emotions:

 

Encourage journalling

Encourage your older children and young people to express their emotions and thoughts through journalling. It can be less confronting than speaking out loud and is a helpful way to process what is going on.

 

Practice mindfulness

Try mindful activities and quiet family time to enjoy being in the present moment. This can help children and young people be aware of their thoughts and emotions and learn a useful new coping technique.

 

Communicate

Feedback is crucial for helping us see our blind spots and gain greater insight. Children and young people are no different.

Creating safe and supportive ways to share your own experience with your child can help them understand themselves and their impact on the world around them.

 

Make space for reflection

When children and young people reflect on their different emotions, it can help them better understand themselves and what they need. Go for a walk, drive, or try some mindful colouring or baking together.

 

Be visual

Use imagery, such as emojis or flashcards to help children and young people recognise and label their feelings.

 

Resources for parents and families

Place2Be’s Parenting Smart website (www.parentingsmart.org.uk) provides free, practical advice for parents and carers of 4–11-year-olds on how to support their child’s wellbeing and behaviour. The content has been created by Place2Be’s parenting experts. It’s based on evidence and their experiences working with children, young people and their families.

 

For more activities and resources, visit Families – Children’s Mental Health Week