Children's Mental Health Week 2019
Children's Mental Health Week is a time for children, young people and adults to
celebrate their uniqueness. It is a chance to recognise that everyone is different but
that everyone has skills and strengths and that our differences should be celebrated.
In 2019, Children's Mental Health Week runs from 4th to 10th February. This time,
the theme of the week is 'Healthy: Inside and Out'. The theme aims to highlight
the fact that, while most people are aware of the importance of keeping their body
physically healthy, they are not as aware of the importance of keeping their mind
healthy.
The term mental health refers to how people feel
What
emotionally about different aspects of their lives such
is Mental
as their relationships, health, work and themselves.
Health?
Being aware of our mental health is important because
it can affect how we deal with stress, make decisions,
how we behave and how we interact with other people.
A Place2Be
A school-based charity called Place2Be was founded in 1994. Their vision is "a
world where children have the opportunity to grow up with prospects rather than
problems." They have gone from supporting five schools in London to working with
294 schools nationwide.
The charity builds children's resilience through talking, creative work and play,
and helping them to develop the skills to cope with a wide range of
issues. They also provide school support and training to help children
develop a positive self-image. Place2Be launched the first Children's
Mental Health Week in 2015 to help spread the word about the
importance of children's mental health being considered, as well as
their ability to learn.
It is known that mental health can improve if people have
a positive view of themselves. This helps the development
of good self-esteem which will enable people to cope
with misfortunes and disappointments. It will also
mean they have better relationships with people around
them and improve their emotional wellbeing.
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Children's Mental Health Week 2019
A Royal Patron
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge has been a patron of Place2Be since
2013. She says that "We can ensure that every child is given support to help them
fulfil their true potential," and that people who are involved with the education
and care of young people must "work together to ensure the children in our care
have the chance to become the best version of themselves."
Helpful Tips
These tips are suggested to help young people to improve the way they see things
and improve their emotional wellbeing.
• Get outside! A little time outdoors every day is great for the whole body, including
the mind.
• Talk to an adult you trust if something is worrying or upsetting you. Even if you
think it isn't worth bothering someone about, it often helps to
share with someone.
• Try to focus on a positive thing that happens every day, even
if it is something small.
• Think of three things that you like about yourself.
• Next time you are with a group of people, think about
how everyone in that group might be different.
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Children's Mental Health Week 2019
Questions
1. In your own words, explain the importance of Children's Mental Health Week.
2. Which word is closest in meaning to uniqueness? Tick one.
positivity
individuality
unusual
equal to
3. Write two possible things that may be affected if we are not aware of our own mental health.
1.
2.
4. Explain the meaning of the word written in bold in the sentence below:
Their vision is "a world where children have the opportunity to grow up with prospects
rather than problems."
5. Fill in the missing words in this sentence.
Place2Be the first Children's Mental Health Week 2015 to help
about the of children's mental health.
6. Tick the true statements about Place2Be.
The Duchess of Cornwall is a patron of Place2Be.
Place2Be was founded in 1994.
In 2016, Children's Mental Health Week began.
This year, the theme is 'Healthy: Inside and Out'.
Place2Be use a range of different activities to help children develop skills
in dealing with different issues.
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Children's Mental Health Week 2019
7. Name one thing that you could do to improve your mental health.
8. What are your thoughts about Children's Mental Health Week? Give evidence to support
your answer.
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