My Voice Matters: Children’s Mental Health Week 2024

Children’s Mental Health Week is a special time when we celebrate the uniqueness of every child and raise awareness of children’s mental health. The theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is ‘My Voice Matters’, running from 5^th – 11^th February 2024. The theme ‘My Voice Matters’ empowers children and young people to recognise the strength in expressing themselves and look after their mental health and wellbeing. In this blog article, we’ll explore why children’s voices matter, and how we can create a supportive environment for their mental wellbeing.

Why Does My Voice Matter?

1. Expression of Emotions

Encouraging children to express their emotions is crucial for their mental health. By recognising and validating their feelings, children develop emotional intelligence, which is essential for building strong and resilient minds.

2. Building Confidence

When children feel heard and valued, their confidence and self-esteem grows. By acknowledging their unique opinions and ideas, we contribute to the healthy development of their self-esteem, helping them navigate challenges with a positive mindset.

3. Fostering Communication Skills

The ability to communicate effectively is a life skill that starts developing in childhood. By encouraging children to express themselves, we help them in building strong communication skills, which leads to healthier relationships and interactions with others.

4. Sense of Belonging

A sense of belonging is crucial for children’s overall development and wellbeing. It plays a significant role in shaping their emotional, social, and cognitive growth. By acknowledging their voice, we create an inclusive environment where children feel accepted and understood, and contribute to improved self-esteem and confidence, social development, academic success, identity development, behavioural regulation and improved mental health.

How Can We Support Children’s Voices?

We can support children’s voices to be heard by:

1. Active Listening

Taking the time to actively listen when children want to share their thoughts and feelings not only shows that their voice matters, but it also teaches them the importance of listening in their own relationships.

2. Encourage Creative Listening

Providing opportunities for regular creative expression is important. Whether it be through art, music, movement, or storytelling – these outlets allow children to express themselves in unique and unconfined ways, fostering a sense of individuality and creativity.

3. Promote Open Communication

Create an open and non-judgemental space for children to express themselves. You can encourage them to talk about their day, share their dreams, ask them about their interests, and support them to voice their opinions. This helps to build trust and strengthens the parent-child, teacher-student, or adult-child relationship.

4. Validate Feelings

Let children know that their feelings are valid. Whether they’re happy, sad, or angry, acknowledging their emotions helps them understand that it’s OK to feel and express what’s on their minds.

During Children’s Mental Health Week, let’s celebrate the power of every child’s voice. By recognising the importance of their thoughts and feelings, we can contribute to their mental and emotional wellbeing and help them grow into resilient and confident individuals. In a world where everyone is trying to be like someone else, one of the most powerful things a child (and adults too) can be is themselves, and their voice matters more than they may realise.