{"id":10173,"date":"2020-05-11T15:36:37","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T19:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/?p=10173"},"modified":"2025-02-25T12:06:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T17:06:50","slug":"kids-and-mental-health-fun-ways-to-talk-to-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/resources\/news-library\/kids-and-mental-health-fun-ways-to-talk-to-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"KIDS AND MENTAL HEALTH: FUN WAYS TO TALK TO ABOUT IT"},"content":{"rendered":"
WHEN IT COMES TO KIDS AND MENTAL HEALTH, IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE A SERIOUS CONVERSATION. BUT TURN THAT ON ITS HEAD, AND YOU\u2019VE GOT AN EXPERIENCE YOU MIGHT ALL ENJOY.<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Mental health<\/a>\u00a0means emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Our mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. It determines how we handle stress, relate to other people, and make decisions. And it\u2019s important for everyone, at every stage of life\u2014starting in very early childhood. But it may not be something your parents ever discussed with you. So how do you know what to say?<\/p>\n

As parents, we want our kids to be happy, and it makes sense that we try to keep them that way. But as they navigate life\u2019s challenges, changes, and disappointments, we should keep in mind that they\u2019re also learning the importance\u2014and the value\u2014of tough-to-process feelings that might seem mostly negative.<\/p>\n

Should you just sit down with your kids and announce that you\u2019d like to talk about feelings? We can\u2019t say it won\u2019t work, but if you\u2019re looking for more entertaining options, we have a few to suggest.<\/p>\n

Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kids are natural lovers of stories, whether in books, cartoons, or movies. And stories are an ideal way to start talking to kids about what feelings are, and why they\u2019re important.<\/p>\n

For very young kids,\u00a0My Many Colored Days by Doctor Seuss<\/a>\u00a0explores the range of emotions we all feel through color and animals, two subjects that preschoolers find naturally fascinating. On orange days, the narrator explains, \u201cI\u2019m a circus seal!\u201d But on green days: \u201cDeep, deep in the sea. Cool and quiet fish. That\u2019s me.\u201d The book naturally invites questions: \u201cWhat color do you feel today?\u201d or \u201cWhat does blue feel like to you?\u201d There are no right or wrong answers, and your child\u2019s insights may surprise you.<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0Pixar movie Inside Out<\/a>, feelings have the starring roles. The main characters are the five emotional moods of an 11-year-old girl named Riley. Their names are Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, and Sadness. Riley\u2019s world is upside-down since her parents moved the family to a new home in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

Riley\u2019s emotions, led by Joy, try to guide her through this difficult, life-changing event. However, the stress of the move has brought Sadness to the forefront. Without really meaning to, Sadness is starting to color all of Riley\u2019s happiest core memories. To complicate matters, Joy doesn\u2019t really see the worth in Sadness. But when Joy and Sadness get stranded together in the depths of Riley’s mind, Joy finds that Sadness has an important part to play.<\/p>\n

There are scenes that show clearly how even a happy and secure life contains moments of loss. Sadness helps Riley to understand and process the changes she\u2019s experiencing internally, due to changes she\u2019s dealing with externally. But because Riley learns to cope with these losses, the movie\u2019s ending is ultimately a happy one.<\/p>\n

After watching the movie, ask questions. What feelings has your child experienced? When were they experienced most strongly? And what makes even difficult feelings important players on the emotional team?<\/p>\n

Games<\/strong><\/p>\n

Games are another great way to explore feelings and start conversations. One classic that works well with younger kids is\u00a0Candyland.<\/a>\u00a0Since spaces are designated by color, it\u2019s easy to adapt the game to talk about feelings. For example, when the player lands on red, he or she could answer a question about anger: What makes you angry? What do you do when you\u2019re angry? How do you know when someone else is angry? And so on. Again, there are no right or wrong answers here. The important thing is to start the conversation.<\/p>\n

Speaking of anger: It can be one of the toughest for kids\u2014and parents\u2014to talk about constructively. At Families First, we sometimes use a\u00a0card game called Mad Dragon<\/a>\u00a0to work with kids and families specifically on anger. Played similarly to UNO, the game helps kids and their families understand what anger feels like and looks like. It helps players express their feelings, spot anger cues, and understand that they have choices.<\/p>\n

Stress Relief<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kids experience a lot of stress, and it\u2019s important that kids learn how to deal with those stressful moments without escalating the situation. Of course, it\u2019s better to have this conversation when you\u2019re not both totally stressed out. Pick a time when stress is under discussion, but in which you still seem to be able to hear one another.<\/p>\n

Use balloons to get the conversation started. Have the children imagine their overall stress or anger as a balloon. Explain that every time you add to the balloon, it gets a little bigger, and it gets a little closer to bursting. They don\u2019t want the balloon to burst, so if it seems to be getting too full of stress or anger, they just need to let a little of it out. It\u2019s an analogy that helps kids understand that it\u2019s okay to have negative feelings, but that they don\u2019t need to let it build and build.<\/p>\n

How can kids let stress and other powerful emotions out?<\/p>\n