• Christine Meyer-Jones.

Mental Health – Critical for Children

In our complex and changing society, the mental health and wellbeing of our children shapes their success in life. Young people face an increasing number of issues that can seriously impact their wellbeing. Simply put, growing up isn’t easy. Life Education understands that mental health is critical for children growing up, and works to help them feel comfortable with their identity, where they fit in and where they belong.

Through the work we do in schools, we’re seeing increasing demand for help to support children’s wellbeing, such as resilience and tactics to deal with stress. By equipping children with the right skills, we can help turn this around. All young people want the same things: to be included, opportunities to learn, to take risks and experience success, to have friends who value and accept them, and to feel competent and confident.

How does Life Ed support children’s mental health?

Through education we help students to understand how decisions they make today can affect their future health and wellbeing. Our specialist educators teach children about the magnificent brain so students can develop an understanding of how it functions and what its needs are. Using models and digital technology, our educators are able to teach children how their brain reacts when they are under stress. We explore how the brain responds to different emotions and how we can create positive responses. One of the strategies we explore with children is about the need for support and the importance of sharing our problems with others to help navigate through the complex issues they face.

Growing up is like a roller coaster ride. Sometimes life is fantastic, there’s so much to look forward to and the future looks bright. The next moment it can come crashing down and it seems like nothing's going right. These ups and downs can be very challenging, and it is our hope that after attending the Life Ed programme they leave better equipped to deal with the challenges.

As we are a charity, we appreciate the financial support of the local community. If you are in a position to help us financially, we would love to talk with you, show you through a classroom and you can meet our educators. My email address is cmeyerjones@yahoo.com.

Onward and upward

Christine Meyer-Jones

Chair Life Education North Shore

Schools we are visiting in September: Torbay Primary School, Kauri Park Shool, Sunnynook Primary School and Belmont Primary