Children’s Mental Health Week – My Voice Matters
Children's Mental Health Week is celebrated in the UK between February 5 and 11th. The week provides a unique opportunity for caregivers, parents, teachers, and community members to learn more about children's mental health and how they can address issues children may face.
This year’s week will focus on My Voice Matters, where children will be encouraged to raise their voices about children's mental health concerns. In 2015, the organization Place2Be launched Children's Mental Health to bring attention to the many undiagnosed and often overlooked mental health issues that children face every day.
Now in its tenth year, free resources and materials are available on their site for download. Read more about the week and children's mental health support books.
Reading about Children’s Mental Health Matters
To learn more about the week, it is essential to read children's mental health support books so that we are in a better position to address any mental health concerns that come up with our children or children we are interacting with as caregivers, teachers, and community members.
They are picking up a book that not only provides essential information on what kind of mental health issues children face but how to deal with them can make a big difference in your journey of understanding children's mental health.
7 Ways to Support Children’s Mental Health
Here are seven ways you can support children’s mental health for the children in your life. These ways will not only help you understand what kind of mental health issues children face but also important ways you can provide children ways to express themselves.
This year's theme is about getting children to express themselves no matter where they live worldwide. This is important for their self-esteem and for parents and caregivers who may not be skilled in talking to their children.
- Be a Role Model
Be a positive role model and show positive coping skills and mechanisms to deal with stress. Your children always notice how their caregivers, teachers, and parents deal with difficult situations. Providing a good example not only helps children model good behaviour, but it will also offer something you can go back and use as an example. Reading children's mental health books can provide insight into how to model good behaviour.
- Be Attentive
Be attentive and pay attention to any changes in sleep, toilet habits or diet. Sometimes, children cannot express their anxiety or concerns but will complain of a stomach ache or lose their appetite. These things are essential to pay attention to and can be red flags that something is bothering them. Ask them about it if you notice it, and always refer to a trained medical professional if you need to. Reading books on depression for children can always help you understand specific behaviour changes in your child if you feel the need.
- Just Talk to Them
Often, children do not know how to talk to their parents about things that concern them and are counting on them to make the first move. It would help if you calmly asked them without sounding anxious or worried, as this will further cause them to clamp up. Taking the time to ask about their day can do wonders and make them feel that they can open up to you about anything that has happened at school. Reading about conversing with children and general mental health books can also help parents and caregivers.
- Follow a Routine and Set Boundaries
Children need routine and a set pattern of activities to feel grounded. A parent or caregiver needs to provide that to them so that they know what to expect next. Boundaries are essential to keep children aware of what they are allowed and not allowed to do. Limiting screen time is an important boundary that many parents should be enforcing.
- Tell them You Love Them
Show your emotion and tell them you love them. This may seem like a simple thing, but it needs to be considered necessary. Anyone who has children knows that the more emotion you show, the more as individuals they will be able to expect and mimic that behaviour as adults. Expressing your feelings and being able to talk about things that bother you is vital to modelling behaviour that children can learn from.
Children’s Mental Health Books
Reading children's mental health books is a critical way to learn and understand your child better. Below is an excellent list of books you can purchase from our site. Check them out today!
1. Mental Health Matters – Volume 2
5. Allie the Alligator Gets Anxious
Children’s Mental Health Support Books
Now that you have a list of ways to support the children in your life this week and a great list of the best mental health books, you are ready! Take the time to talk to your child and support them by learning more about children’s mental health this week.
Connect with Austin Macauley Publishers for more such blogs, and submit your manuscript if you want to publish your work. You can also make a quick and easy submission through the online submission form. You can stay updated with our new releases and activities by joining our family of authors and readers on Facebook, X, TikTok, and Instagram.