When should we be teaching children about mental health? It’s an issue so important that Ofsted have made it a regular part of their inspections in schools. However there’s a lack of resources that allow parents and carers to have conversations with children without stigma.
New Book Series
A new book series on the market is ‘Healthy Minds’, written by John Wood and Holly Duhig. It’s been written in collaboration with clinical psychologists at the charity, Place 2 Be. It’s the first of its kind on the market. With over a dozen titles published, they are a great resource for children who deserve to feel comfortable addressing their mental health. Titles explore feeling sad, happy and help young ones understand conditions such as ADHD in an absorbing, fun and creative way.
What sparked little C’s imagination was the questions at the end of each book which helped me understand as a parent how much of the book he had understood.
Our Review
Anita the Alligator remains a firm favourite with little C and tells the tale of sibling rivalry in a fun way with mashed potato along the way! “The books are designed to be used in discussion with teachers and school counsellors, as well as a teaching tool for some areas of the PHSE curriculum.
“But mostly, we hope that any child suffering from mental health problems will have access to accurate, stigma-free and up-to-date information on the things they are going through,” explains Duhig, who is publishing through independent children’s book publishers, BookLife.
“We worked diligently to wrap the information up in fun, bold and colourful stories. It’s really going to make a huge difference.
“We also wanted to create something adults can use to have meaningful, dignified conversations about topics that might appear uncomfortable or embarrassing. No child deserves to suffer and no child’s mental health is their fault. This book series will hopefully change lives around the world.”
Resources for other books teaching children about mental health, click here.
Saffron and Cyrus is a Newcastle-based family lifestyle blog, covering health, wellness, days out, travel, reviews, recipes and more from our family life.
The blog is written by new mum over 40, Aranda, with input from hubby H and son, Little C.
