As part of Children’s Mental Health Week (which runs until Sunday 7th February this year) and our Wellness in Winter campaign, our team at CVS Falkirk has put together a list of resources and information available for people in the local area, focused on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, and ways to help with learning at home.
The COVID-19 pandemic and various levels of lockdown have had an impact on us all, but especially children and young people. Remote learning, staying home and unable to see friends and family are all incredibly challenging and difficult to adapt to, as their normal coping mechanisms are no longer available.
Children’s Mental Health Week focuses on helping children and young people not face mental health problems alone, and supporting them and their families. This year, with a theme of “Express Yourself”, this is more important than ever,
Place2Be, who organise Child Mental Health Week, say:
“Expressing yourself is about finding ways to share feelings, thoughts, or ideas, through creativity. This could be through art, music, writing and poetry, dance and drama, photography and film, and doing activities that make you feel good.
It’s important to remember that being able to express yourself is not about being the best at something or putting on a performance for others. It is about finding a way to show who you are, and how you see the world, that can help you feel good about yourself.
For Children’s Mental Health Week 2021 we will be encouraging children (and adults) to explore the different ways we can express ourselves, and the creative ways that we can share our feelings, our thoughts and our ideas.”
Please see below for the full list of resources and information.
From Place2Be:
- Royal Patron HRH The Duchess of Cambridge’s video message marking the start of the week
- A message from John Swinney, Deputy First Minister of Scotland.
- Their Virtual Assembly with BAFTA and Oak National Academy, now available to view and share, featuring Jodie Whittaker, Oti Mabuse, Matthew Lewis and many more.
- A range of free learning resources which can be adapted for use in school, for home-schooling, online lessons or independent learning.
- National Clinical Director of the Scottish Government, Professor Jason Leitch’s chat with school children about Children’s Mental Health Week (video and transcript).
- “Children’s Voices: How We Like to Express Ourselves”: ideas from young children on how they express themselves and their feelings.
- The Children’s Mental Health Week map, where people can add themselves and let Place2Be know how they celebrated the week.
From Falkirk District Association for Mental Health (FDAMH), this graphic with tips from their team on supporting kids’ mental health and to help support through everyday life, including:
- “Listen to what they’re saying; encourage them to talk about their feelings in open, safe conversations.”
- “Take what they say seriously and make sure they feel valued when opening up, paying attention to their emotions.”
- “Keep involved and encourage them to explore their hobbies and interests.”
- “Maintain healthy and positive daily routines in kids’ everyday lives like sleeping, eating and exercise.”
From Falkirk High School, this motivational graphic reminding children and young people:
- “You are important and you matter.”
- “You are so loved.”
- “Your mistakes don’t define you.”
- “It’s okay to ask for help.”
- “You are allowed to say no.”
- “Your wants and needs are valid.”
- “Productivity doesn’t define worth.”
- “Your boundaries are important and worth respect.”
From National Children’s Deaf Society (NCDS) Scotland:
“It’s important to encourage D/deaf children and young people to talk openly about their feelings”; they have produced some top tips for parents, carers and families on how to help their child understand and communicate emotions, including:
- naming emotions
- acknowledging feelings
- understanding the feelings of others
- incidental learning
For the full list, please visit the NCDS Scotland website.
