Building Mental Health Literacy

We often talk about helping children build their literacy skills in reading and writing, but another important area of learning is mental health literacy.

Mental health literacy is about helping children understand their mental health and wellbeing. This includes being able to recognise and talk about how they are feeling, knowing some things they can do when things feel difficult, and knowing when and how to ask for help.

Building these skills early can help children develop healthy ways of coping and make it easier for them to ask for help when they need it.

An important part of mental health literacy is helping children understand that all feelings are normal. Feeling worried, sad, angry, frustrated or overwhelmed at times doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong. Children will experience ups and downs, just as adults do. What we want them to learn is how to notice what is happening for them, what might help and when they might need some extra support.

At Banyule PS, we are continuing to build students’ mental health literacy through our wellbeing learning and everyday classroom conversations. We are helping students develop the language to talk about their emotions and wellbeing, build positive coping strategies and know when and who to ask for help.

Building Mental Health Literacy at Home

Everyday conversations are a great place to start. Instead of the usual “How was your day?”, you might try:

• What was something that felt good today?

• Was anything tricky or stressful?

• How did you know you were feeling that way?

• What helped?• What could you try next time?

• Who could you talk to if you needed some help?

It can also be really helpful for children to hear adults talk about their own wellbeing. Something as simple as, “I've had a really busy day and I'm feeling a bit stressed. I'm going to take the dog for a walk because that usually helps me,” shows children that difficult feelings are a normal part of life and that there are things we can do to look after ourselves.

We don't need our children to feel happy all the time. We want them to gradually learn to understand how they're feeling, build strategies for the tricky times and know that it's always okay to reach out for help.

Want to Learn More?

Emerging Minds has a helpful podcast, Supporting Your Child's Emotions, with practical ideas for helping children understand and manage their emotions.

Listen here: https://emergingminds.com.au/podcasts/supporting-your-childs-emotions/

Katela Chrisanthopoulos

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader

JSC News