Amar House take part in Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week 2023

February sees Children’s Mental Health Awareness week, Monday 6th to Sunday 12th February 2023, with this year’s theme being “Let’s Connect”.
 
The aim of Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week is to make a difference to the lives of children and young people across the UK.  Let’s Connect is about making meaningful connections for everyone, not just for Children’s Mental Health Week – but beyond.
 
The ability to connect with others can also support our mental health and our sense of wellbeing.  So, when our need for rewarding social connections is not met, we can sometimes feel isolated and lonely, and this can have a negative impact on our mental health.

The staff at Amar House have been working with the young people there to discuss what mental health is and why it is important to look after ourselves, not only physically but mentally also.

The young people have been learning about coping strategies and have enjoyed creating mindfulness jars.  A mindfulness jar is a container filled primarily with water and glitter. In addition to helping us improve our mindfulness they help to focus visually and draw attention to the present moment, giving the body time to re-regulate and to slow down feelings and thoughts.

Anyone can use them because they are simple, portable, and easy to use.  Everyone expressed how satisfying they looked and took time to learn how to use them for their own individual needs.

Additionally, the young people are doing one random act of kindness every day, either toward the care team, other young people in the home, or peers/teachers at school.  This will help them create a meaningful connection with someone.

If you would like to learn more about Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week, click here.