Hi, kids! How are you feeling today? Are you feeling relaxed, happy, or joyful? Maybe it’s because it’s nice and sunny, or because you’re with your friends. Feeling this way is a sign of being mentally healthy, which means feeling calm and relaxed most of the time.
Mental health is all about how our brain feels. It includes our thoughts, emotions, and moods. When we are mentally healthy, we can think clearly, stay curious, and share our feelings with others. This makes us happy, even when doing chores like washing dishes or walking the dog in the rain. Life feels good!
Before we talk more about mental health, let’s think about physical health. When our bodies are healthy, we can move and enjoy activities. We stay healthy by eating well, sleeping well, playing sports, and keeping clean. If we get sick or hurt, our body sends signals like pain or fever, and our parents help us get better or take us to a doctor.
Sometimes, we might feel upset, sad, scared, worried, or angry. These feelings are okay as long as they don’t last too long. Mental health also means knowing how to handle these emotions. What do you do when you’re upset or overwhelmed? Maybe you read a favorite book, take deep breaths, watch a movie, or meet friends.
If you feel down or worried for a long time, even when doing fun things, or if you can’t concentrate or sleep well, these are signals from your brain asking for help. Another sign is not feeling anything at all and not sharing joy or sorrow with others. If this happens, talk to a parent or teacher who is kind and supportive. They can help you understand your feelings and find a way to feel better.
Some people are mentally different, and that’s normal! For example, children with autism might communicate differently and need quiet time alone, but they can be really good at math, science, and arts. Kids with ADHD might find it hard to focus and need to switch activities often, but they are usually great at sports and have lots of ideas!
Remember, it’s important to take care of both your body and your mind. If you ever feel like you need help, don’t hesitate to talk to someone you trust!
Emotion Jar Activity: Create an “Emotion Jar” at home. Find a jar and some small pieces of paper. Each day, write down how you’re feeling on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. At the end of the week, look at all your emotions. Discuss with a parent or friend about what made you feel happy, sad, or any other emotion. This helps you understand and express your feelings better.
Feelings Nature Walk: Go on a walk outside with a family member or friend. As you walk, notice how different things make you feel. Does the sunshine make you feel warm and happy? Does the sound of birds make you feel calm? Talk about these feelings and how nature can help us feel good. Try to find at least three things that make you feel happy or relaxed.
Helping Hands Chart: Create a chart with your family called “Helping Hands.” Each time you help someone or someone helps you, write it down on the chart. This could be helping a friend with homework, sharing toys, or listening to someone who is upset. At the end of the week, look at all the ways you helped each other. Discuss how helping others can make us feel good and improve our mental health.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, kids! Welcome to our outdoor class. How are you feeling?
– Relaxed
– Happy
– Joyful
And why do you think you feel that way? Is there any particular reason?
– Because it’s nice and sunny!
– Because my friends are with me!
Right! In fact, that’s how a mentally healthy person feels most of the time – calm and relaxed.
So, what does ‘mentally healthy’ mean? That’s what we are going to find out today – what mental health is and why it’s important to take care of it.
First, let’s discuss what physical health is. When our bodies are healthy, we can move the way we want and enjoy all kinds of activities. To stay healthy, we take care of our bodies by eating well, sleeping well, playing sports, and keeping warm and clean.
But sometimes our body can get sick or injured, and it sends us signals like pain or fever. If something happens to your body, your parents help you get well or take you to a doctor.
Now, mental health has to do with how our brain feels. Our thoughts, emotions, and moods all make up our mental health. When you can think clearly, stay curious and active, and share your feelings with others, your brain is doing well, and you are naturally happy – not only because of pleasant things or activities but even when doing chores, like washing dishes or taking the dog for a walk in bad weather. Life is good anyway!
Of course, we sometimes get upset, sad, scared, worried, or angry – and all those feelings are totally fine too, as long as they don’t stay with you for too long.
Mental health also means knowing how to deal with difficult emotions. Now let’s think – when you’re upset or overwhelmed, what can make you feel better?
– I would read my favorite book.
– I take deep breaths and count to 10!
– Watching a movie!
– Meeting friends is the best!
But if unpleasant situations repeat too often, one can get stressed, and their mental health may be affected. If you notice that you feel down or worried for a long time without a clear reason – even when doing enjoyable things – if you can’t concentrate or sleep well, those are signals that your brain sends you asking for help.
Another sign of poor mental health is not feeling anything at all and not being able to share joy or sorrow with others. If you are overwhelmed by unhappy thoughts, it’s a good idea to talk about it with a parent or teacher who you know is kind and supportive. A trusted adult can help you understand your feelings, and together you can find a way out of the situation that upsets you.
As you see, the signals of poor mental health are harder to notice than signals of physical health issues. That’s why you need to know them, and you should not hesitate to turn for help to someone you trust.
What’s also interesting is that some people are mentally different from others, and that’s normal! For example, children with autism communicate in a specific way and may need to spend more time alone in quiet places. But they are often really good at math, science, and arts!
Some kids have ADHD, which makes it very hard for them to stay focused, so they need to switch activities or take breaks more often than others. Those kids are usually good at sports and have a lot of ideas!
Let’s review:
1) What is good mental health? – Feeling happy most of the time, and feeling unhappy as a reaction to bad things.
2) What is poor mental health? – Feeling down for a long time.
3) How do we deal with poor mental health? – Talk to a trusted person who is kind and supportive to us.
4) What can we do if some kids find it difficult to do what’s easy for others? – Help them when we can!
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This version maintains the original message while ensuring clarity and appropriateness.
