World Mental Health Day, observed on October 10th, was created in 1992 by the World Federation of Mental Health. The purpose of the holiday is to advance people’s knowledge and awareness of mental health issues all over the world.

This is significant to all of us. Right here in America, 43 million people (about twice the population of New York) are battling mental health issues. On a global scale, one in four people will need mental health care within their lifetimes. Mental health struggles are much more common than we realize, and it is vital that we continue to de-stigmatize and continually re-educate ourselves about the topic of mental health.

Part of your responsibility as a parent is to teach your child how to take care of their health, and their mental health is certainly no less important than their physical health. By exposing them to the topic early in their lives, teaching them to process their emotions, and allowing them access to mental health resources, you can enable them to best care for themselves in the future.

One great way to educate your child about mental health is to observe World Mental Health Day with them! Wondering how? We’ll break it down for you.

Mental Health Day Activities for Kids

There are a host of different activities you can do with your child to celebrate World Mental Health Day. After all, the best way to honor the date is to do something good for your own mental health! The following activities provide a plethora of mental health benefits for kids and adults alike, so the whole family can enjoy them together!

Read a Book on Mental Health

One of the best ways to learn about any subject is to crack open a book! Reading about mental health both educates kids on the topic and promotes general literacy. Check out Thrive Global’s exciting list of kids’ books that cover mental health topics from peer pressure to anger management to coping with a parent’s depression, and more! These books will help young kids identify, evaluate, and cope with their emotions.

Talk About Feelings

Using the vocabulary and concepts you explore in your reading, you can hold a private discussion with your child on how their feelings affect them emotionally, mentally, and physically. Try providing them with an example,” When this happens, I feel this emotion, which feels like…”. Encourage them to use vivid descriptors to explain how they feel physically when emotions come on. For example, “When I’m anxious, I have butterflies in my stomach” or, “When I’m sad I feel like I have a raincloud over me.” You can even encourage kids to draw these scenarios!

Journal

As beneficial as it is for kids and adults alike to talk to someone about their feelings, there’s yet another tool we can utilize when other people aren’t available. A journal is an invaluable resource to many people and can help your child express and process their feelings when there’s no one available to talk to, or when their emotions are too overwhelming to be discussed calmly.

Your child should feel that their journal is a safe place where they can get all their feelings on paper without judgment. For tips on how to ensure your child gets the most out of journaling, check out this list from Journal Buddies.

Color With Some Relaxing Music

Throw on some chill tunes and color away! Coloring has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in kids as well as adults.

This is an especially appropriate activity for closing out the day with your child. Concentrating deeply on something that isn’t an electronic screen for a while can help your child fall asleep and improve the quality of their sleep. High-quality sleep is key to maintaining balanced mental health.

Coloring also encourages kids to improve their focus and concentration. It has a terrific host of mental benefits, and it’s a soothing sensory experience to boot!

Mindfulness and Meditation

Try some mindfulness exercises with your child to help them enhance their day-to-day happiness. Studies have shown that practicing mindfulness improves sleep, and it also has beneficial effects on self-esteem, soothes stress, and improves concentration.

Mindfulness can come in a variety of forms, from meditation to gardening, to cooking, almost anything can be done mindfully. So, if you have trouble getting your child to settle down to a 5- or 10-minute meditation, you can try one of the 25 mindfulness activities for kids from Parents with Confidence.

If you want to make a more traditional attempt at meditation with your kids, guided meditations designed specifically to engage kids are out there! Check out mindfulness app Headspace’s kids’ programming or try reading these guided meditation scripts from Green Child to your kid.

Get Moving!

Physical activity sends out endorphins which improve your child’s overall mood. It also causes a reduction in the stress hormone, cortisol. So, be sure to integrate some fun physical activities into your child’s celebration of World Mental Health Day. Here are some suggestions from Mommy Poppins on how to engage your kids in indoor or outdoor physical activities and active games!

Physical and mental health go hand in hand, and one great way to service them both at once is with a little yoga! Our favorite resource for online, kid-friendly yoga activities is the Cosmic Kids Yoga YouTube channel. Check out their quick and easy yoga tutorials to get your kids mobile and mentally present!

Make Calm Down Jars

Calm-down jars are fun to make and soothe your child when they’re tense. Watching the glitter flow up and down will mesmerize them and engage their senses to make for a moment of mindfulness. Learn six different variations on the classic calm-down jar at Preschool Inspirations.

Make Slime

Slime is a similarly soothing sensory toy that is as fun to make as it is to play with. Read Wondrfly’s recent article on super slimes you can create with your child at home!

We hope you enjoyed our tips on how to make the most of World Mental Health Day with your child. Stay tuned to the Wondrfly blog for the latest and greatest parenting tips and hacks.

If you’re looking for a way to entertain your child on any day of the year, try searching Wondrfly’s extensive database of Jersey City kids’ activities!