Children's Mental Health Week is run by children's mental health charity Place2Be to focus on the importance of looking after our emotional wellbeing from an early age.
This year's theme is 'Find your Brave". Having two boys I am well aware of the affects of mental health with children. I think this years theme of Find your Brave is so appropriate. I think it is important to provide children a toolbox of tips they can use when life becomes to much, so they can Find their Brave. Simple things such as remembering to come back to the breath and take three deep breaths to calm the mind. Using aromatherapy such as an atmosphere mist like Relax or Harmony and also using an eye pillow to block out the light, calm the mind and help with sleep.
3-9 February 2020 is Children’s Mental Health Week.
The meaning of this year’s theme of Find your Brave.
"Bravery comes in all shapes and sizes and is different for everyone. Bravery can be about sharing worries and asking for help, trying something new or pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. Finding your Brave can build your confidence, self-esteem and make you feel good about yourself. Life often throws challenges our way. Bravery isn’t about coping alone or holding things in. It’s about finding positive ways to deal with things that might be difficult, overcoming physical and mental challenges and looking after yourself. We all have times when we need to Find our Brave."
Place2Be provides some really simple tips to share with your children to encourage them to Find their Brave.
1. Remind your child that bravery comes in many forms and everyone is different. What’s brave for them might not feel brave to someone else.
2. Chat with your child about a time when you’ve had to Find your Brave. It might have been something big or small.
3. Praise your child when they Find their Brave. Maybe they’ve kept going at learning a new skill or tried something outside of their comfort zone which boosted their confidence.
4. Point out examples of bravery in books and films to your child and talk about how trying out different ways of being brave will help them feel good.
5. Reassure your child that not feeling brave is OK too and that there are times when it might be more difficult to be brave.
