Looking out for one another in Children’s Mental Health Week

February 5, 2021

This past week, from the 1^st to the 7^th of February, is Children’s Mental Health Week 2021. This year has seen unparalleled challenges to children globally, as they have been torn from their schools, their friends, and everything with which they were familiar, and forced to embrace the ‘new normal’ at such a young age and delicate stage of their development. It is because of this that it has never been more important to assess a child’s mental health, and ensure that we are all doing everything we can to support them. This is, of course, by no means easy, particularly when parents are struggling themselves to juggle commitments to work and home-schooling, whilst also trying to look after their own mental and physical health. There are, however, a few key points to bear in mind which may help us care for both our children’s and our own mental health.

This year’s theme is Express Yourself. This may sound like a cliché, or perhaps a vague suggestion, but Place2Be, the charity who launched Children’s Mental Health Week in 2015, explain it as ‘finding a way to show who you are, and how you see the world, that can help you feel good about yourself.’ There is no doubt that 2020 and 2021 have altered the ways in which children are able to express themselves. There are no choir rehearsals, drama classes or chats in the playground, and fewer opportunities to casually express issues to friends or teachers. This is why Place2Be, as well as all of us here at Kings Tutors, encourage parents and children alike to explore the different ways we can all continue to express ourselves in an unusual and increasingly digital world. There are myriad ways in which children can express themselves: art, dance, music, content creation, writing and acting, to name a few. If you feel you child is struggling to express themselves fully, then why not try one of these activities. Whether you’ve never tried them before or have tried them a hundred times previously, the bizarre circumstances through which we are living may provide inspiration for children to express themselves more fully.

Perhaps one of the most important things for a child’s mental health is to know that it is okay to not feel okay, and that there are a number of people that they can talk to about this. Hard though it may be to accept, a parent may not be the person who a child wants to talk to. For children struggling with their mental health, it may simply be that they feel more comfortable opening up to a friend or even a complete stranger, than they do their parents. This is why it is important that parents encourage their children to talk to someone, anyone, who may be in a position to help.

It can also be of great use to try and keep an open dialogue with schools about Children’s Mental Health. This does not mean phoning the school every time a child seems down, but rather checking in every now and then, perhaps with a tutor or form teacher, to see how they believe your child is doing. Teachers now receive exceptional training in mental health, and may therefore be able to help in ways that a parent may not.

If you are worried about your child’s mental health, please have a look at a number of resources below. These are not exhaustive, but we hope that they can provide help and guidance through a difficult time: