Children's Mental Health Week 2026

Children’s Mental Health Week is a chance to pause and really reflect on how our children are feeling, not just how they’re behaving ❤️

This year’s focus reminds us that children thrive when they feel safe, understood and connected. Mental health isn’t something that suddenly appears in adolescence. It’s shaped gently, day by day, from the very beginning.

Why children’s mental health matters

A child’s emotional wellbeing affects everything. How they learn, how they play, how they form relationships and how they cope with challenge.

When children feel emotionally safe, their brains are better able to grow, adapt and develop resilience.

Big feelings are not a sign that something is wrong. They are a sign that something needs support.

Protecting mental health through attachment

One of the most powerful ways we protect children’s mental health is through secure attachment.

When children experience consistent, responsive care, they learn:

✨their feelings matter

✨the world is a safe place

✨they are not alone with big emotions

Responding to cries, sitting with a child through a meltdown, naming emotions and offering comfort all help to build emotional security. This sense of safety becomes the foundation for confidence, regulation and self-esteem later on.

How we’ve been celebrating at Hushabye Hands

In classes this week, we’ve been gently exploring emotions with our little ones. We’ve been reading The Colour Monster and using it to help children recognise and talk about feelings in an age-appropriate way.

Through signing, sensory play and shared stories, children are given tools to express how they feel long before they have the words. Communication is such a powerful protective factor for mental health.

Alongside our regular classes, I’ve also been offering free nursery sessions. These sessions are about reaching even more children and showing staff another gentle, inclusive way to communicate with children, especially around emotions and behaviour. Supporting the adults around children is just as important as supporting the children themselves.

Small moments make a big difference

Protecting children’s mental health doesn’t require big interventions. It lives in everyday moments:

✨connection before correction

✨naming feelings without judgement

✨staying close during big emotions

✨offering calm, predictable routines

At Hushabye Hands, emotional wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do. Not just this week, but every week ❤️

Because children don’t need to be fixed.

They need to be understood.