Children’s Mental Health Week 2025: Know Yourself, Grow Yourself

Children’s Mental Health Week 2025, taking place from 3-9 February, is a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of mental well-being for young people. This year’s theme, “Know Yourself, Grow Yourself,” encourages children and young people to reflect on their emotions, understand who they are, and grow in their ability to express and manage their feelings. In partnership with Here4You and supported by The Walt Disney Company and the Inside Out 2 characters, the week aims to support young people in recognizing the power of emotional awareness and personal growth.

Understanding and expressing emotions can sometimes be tricky for children. In a world that constantly bombards them with new experiences, challenges, and social dynamics, emotional well-being can take a backseat. However, when children feel equipped to identify and express their emotions, it can lead to stronger resilience, healthier relationships, and better mental health.

 

 

Children’s Mental Health Week 2025

Here are a few helpful tips on how children can better express their emotions, with inspiration from Inside Out’s beloved characters.

1. Identify Your Emotions

The first step in understanding your feelings is knowing what you’re feeling. Inside Out’s characters—Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust—represent key emotions that everyone experiences. Children can benefit from recognizing these emotions and labeling them. Encourage them to ask themselves: “How am I feeling right now?” By identifying emotions, children can make sense of their experiences, which makes it easier to express them in a healthy way.

2. Talk About Your Feelings

Once children can identify their emotions, it’s important to encourage open communication. Talking about feelings, whether with a parent, teacher, or friend, can be incredibly healing. Inside Out teaches us that it’s okay to feel all kinds of emotions—both positive and negative. Children should feel safe sharing whatever they are feeling without judgment. Create an environment where it’s normal to discuss feelings and let children know that no emotion is too small or unimportant.

3. Use Creative Outlets

Sometimes words alone can’t fully express what a child is going through. In those moments, creative outlets like drawing, writing, or playing music can help children articulate their emotions. Just like Riley in Inside Out uses her creativity to cope with change, children can explore their emotions through art, journaling, or other forms of expression. It can also help them reflect on what they’re feeling and develop a deeper understanding of their emotional state.

 

4. Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation

Encouraging mindfulness practices, such as deep breathing, meditation, or yoga, can be beneficial for children who are trying to understand their emotions. These practices help children slow down, connect with their feelings, and find ways to manage stress. When a child feels overwhelmed or confused by their emotions, taking a moment to breathe deeply or focus on the present can help them feel calmer and more in control.

5. Learn from Setbacks

Growing emotionally means understanding that not every feeling has to be fixed right away. Just like Inside Out shows us, emotions can be complex, and sometimes, we need time to process them. Encourage children to view challenges as opportunities for growth. If a child feels frustrated, sad, or angry, it’s important to acknowledge those feelings and work through them, rather than avoiding or suppressing them. Over time, they’ll learn to build resilience and grow emotionally.

 

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6. Be Compassionate with Yourself

Finally, remind children to be kind to themselves. It’s easy to be hard on yourself when things don’t go the way you want them to, but self-compassion is an essential part of emotional growth. Just like the Inside Out characters learn to appreciate each other’s roles, children should learn to embrace their full range of emotions and treat themselves with care, especially when dealing with difficult feelings.

By embracing this year’s theme, “Know Yourself, Grow Yourself,” children can begin to better understand who they are, how they feel, and how they can manage those feelings in healthy and constructive ways. This Children’s Mental Health Week 2025 , let’s celebrate the power of emotional awareness and encourage every child to express their emotions with confidence, compassion, and creativity.

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