Children’s Mental Health Week is an annual event dedicated to raising awareness of children and young people’s mental health. The week is an opportunity to open up conversation about mental health, challenge stigma and encourage young people to consider how they can best look after their own wellbeing. It also provides an opportunity for us, as staff and parents, to consider our approach to young people’s mental health.
The theme of Children’s Mental Health Week in 2024 is ‘My Voice Matters’. The theme is about empowering young people, providing them with the tools they need to express themselves, and advocate for what matters to them. As adults, the week acts as a chance to understand how we can listen and understand young people, and be led by their voices.
Within school, activities will be taking place for all students; looking at ‘What matters to me?’, ‘How can I use my voice?’, the stigma of mental health, and raising awareness of our ‘inner coach’ and ‘inner critic’.
Talking to your child about their mental health – and how to respond!
We often worry that by talking to young people about their mental health, we might ‘open a can of worms’, which we don’t know how to unpack or manage. It can feel scary to start conversations about feelings, and you might even feel uncomfortable, or maybe defensive when your child shares how they feel. It can be helpful to use some prompts, and top tips to help open up these conversations.
1. Place and time
If you want to open up a conversation about how your child is feeling, consider how and when you approach the subject. The car can be a great place for these conversations; you avoid any uncomfortable eye contact, and usually the conversation can be private (without any onlookers to overhear!). Walks can be a great opportunity to chat, whether that’s a long trip out to the countryside, or just a 5-minute stroll to the shops. Chatting whilst enjoying an activity (baking, drawing, washing up) can help to make the conversation less intense.
2. Conversation starter
Try these conversation starters to get communication flowing:
• How are you feeling?
• What was the best and worst part of your day today?
• How can I support you through…?
• Do you want to talk about what’s been going on?
Using open questions helps young people to direct and navigate the conversation on their own terms.
3. Listening – and how to respond.
You probably feel that you do nothing but listen to your child, and mainly just want to know how to best help them! The truth is, the majority of the time, there isn’t much that you can do to help them – as you’ll know from your own life, most things cannot be solved with a quick fix solution. Showing young people that it is okay to feel how they are feeling, rather than telling them to ‘cheer up!’ or trying to provide solutions, can be just as important.
Stop what you are doing, and try to give your full attention to your child. If you can’t, plan in some time where you are able to.
Young people typically to ask very difficult questions, at times which might not be convenient or appropriate for you, or when you may not have the headspace to respond properly. Rather than dismissing the conversation, you might say ‘Could we talk about this at TIME/DAY? I know how important this is, and I want to make sure I have the space to listen properly’.
Summarise the conversation to let your child know you have heard them, and to give them an opportunity to clear up any details if needed. You might use phrases like ‘it sounds like…’, ‘it seems like…’
Try to focus on their feelings. Encourage your child to discuss feelings, as well as facts, using phrases like ‘how does that make you feel?’, ‘if you had to describe that feeling, what would it be?’.
4. What if they don’t want to talk?
Young people, just like adults, don’t always want to talk about their feelings. Sometimes, after a long day, thinking and talking more about the thing causing you distress can be difficult.
If your child doesn’t want to talk reassure them that they can talk to you at any time. You could say things like:
• You can talk to me, I’m here for you.
• If you need to talk to someone else, that’s okay too.
• If you talk to me about what is worrying you, I can do my best to help.
• Even if I don’t understand, know that I want to.
• We’re going to get through this together.
You could also see whether other forms of communication like writing a letter or texting would make it easier for your child to let you know what’s going on.
It might be easier for them to communicate in other ways, like over text or with drawing or writing.
Remember, there is no need to be an expert. It’s okay if you don’t always have answers,. Sometimes, just being listened to and validated is enough.
How Exercise Boosts Your Mood
Our mental and physical wellbeing don’t exist in isolation. They are intertwined like sand and sea, complementing one another and constantly being shaped by our experiences and environment. And with that, one can support the other. But how exactly can physical exercise boost your mood and promote positive mental health?
1. Releasing Happy Chemicals
Almost any form of exercise promotes the release of neurotransmitters in the brain, namely serotonin and dopamine. These are mood-regulating chemicals that uplift us, with dopamine giving us feelings of reward and joy that we seek to sustain over time.
2. Regulate Stress
Often referred to as the “stress hormone”, cortisol is another chemical released during the physical stressors of exercise. When we enjoy exercise and perform it at an intensity appropriate for our fitness level, this release can actually help regulate the release of cortisol during mentally stressful experiences in life, ultimately promoting lower overall stress levels as our brains and bodies learn how to balance them better.
3. Sleep
Exercise should be at least a little tiring, and stimulate us mentally and physically. With this fatigue, we need rest and recovery, with sleep being the best way to complement our day’s activity. Research shows doing moderate-intense exercise in the morning or afternoon, and light movement in the evening is the best for boosting good sleep hygiene. And good sleep usually results in a good mood when you wake.
Parent Fitness Classes Advert
A reminder that our free group exercise classes exclusive to parents/carers are running every Monday after school during term-time.
📅 Every Monday (term-time only, starting Monday 29th January 2024)
⌚ 5:00-6:00pm
📍 Flexible Space, Wellbeing Centre
Please arrive approximately five minutes before the class start time, dressed appropriately for physical activity, hydrated and not on a completely empty stomach. Our Wellbeing Centre is located just to the left of the War Memorial Statue if looking away from the front entrance to the school.
You can complete your Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) and Informed Consent form here, and find out more and book your place here.
