Children's Mental Health Week 2025 has a theme of ‘know yourself, grow yourself’ as this idea can have many benefits in terms of strengthening children and young people's mental wellbeing.
The theme encourages you to discover and find out who you are as a person, what helps you in life, what do you need, how do you manage challenges, etc.
The idea here is that once we know about ourselves, it can help us to build resilience and develop our skills.
Knowing yourself and aiming for growth and development helps you to reach your goals in life as you learn how to successfully manage problems and overcome hurdles, allowing you to confidently face the issues that daily life may bring you.
So, let’s talk about how you can know yourself better and look to grow, and the things that help:
Don’t feel pressured to watch the news - This is a good example of recognising how certain activities and information affects you. Small doses of the news can be much more helpful to children and young people.
Questions – Ask questions and try to help create an honest and open environment of both interest and knowledge. Don’t worry if the answer is not known, it can be found out – there may be different interpretations of the answer!
Support – Get support where you can and where you feel it is most appropriate. This could be from a friend, a parent, a teacher, etc. Talk it out - it is always helpful.
Worry and anxiety – Try and remember that it is normal to worry about certain things, it will pass, there is no need to be scared. Notice what makes you feel calm and relaxed and try to lean into those activities during stressful times.
Time – Don’t feel pressured to talk, make sure that the time is right for you, and convenient for the person that you want to talk to, otherwise you might not get their full attention or the desired response.
Repetition – Don’t worry if you feel you need to keep asking the same question, you might need to ask it several times to feel more reassured.
Try and see some positives – No matter how bad the day was or is, try and look at some positives in it all, even if it is looking at something as a learning curve or something you feel pleased you can move on with. Noticing where we have achieved things, even if they are small accomplishments, can make a huge difference to our wellbeing and motivation.
Remember who you are! You’re amazing so carry on!
So, try to keep some of these things in mind, as it can help you know and grow yourself.
Find out more about Children's Mental Health Week 2025, which is run by Place 2 Be, by visiting their website where there is information and resources for parents and schools, and resources for fundraising or making donations.
Warm regards, Sally