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Why Children’s Mental Health Awareness Matters
Mental health isn’t just about overcoming major challenges, it’s about equipping kids with the tools they need to navigate everyday emotions, from excitement and joy to frustration and disappointment.
When children learn to understand their feelings, they’re more likely to:
✅ Express themselves in healthy ways
✅ Build strong, meaningful relationships
✅ Develop confidence in new situations
✅ Bounce back from setbacks and challenges
Just like in Inside Out, where Riley’s emotions work together to guide her, children need to recognise that all feelings, even the tricky ones like Anxiety, Sadness, or Fear, serve a purpose.
By prioritising mental health in your activity club, you’re helping kids develop lifelong emotional skills that will serve them far beyond the walls of your club.
Here are some practical ways to support the emotional well-being of the kids you serve, with activity ideas to make it part of your day-to-dayi
Helping Kids Recognise and Express Their Emotions
With anxiety and depression being among the most common mental health challenges young people face, teaching kids to understand and express their emotions is essential.
Recognising emotions is the first step toward self-awareness, yet many children struggle to identify what they’re feeling; and without the right tools, emotions like frustration or sadness can quickly become overwhelming.
In Inside Out, Riley’s emotions- Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust- each play an important role in her life.
Helping kids recognise their emotions and strengths sets the stage for personal growth. Incorporate activities that encourage reflection on both feelings and abilities, ultimately empowering them to embrace and understand their emotional world.
Activity idea: Emotion Check-In
Start your class with a check-in to encourage emotional development. This can be done using the activity steps outlined below.
- Use a simple ‘Feelings Wheel’* or Mood Cards to help kids explore their feelings
- Ask them to point to or describe how they’re feeling today
- Encourage them to explain why- this builds their emotional vocabulary and confidence in expressing emotions
By creating a safe space for kids to talk about their feelings, you’re helping them develop emotional literacy- the ability to recognise, name, and express emotions.
Normalising these conversations teaches kids that all feelings are valid and an important part of self-growth. The Feelings Wheel is the brainchild of Dr Gloria Willcox and can help us put words to our emotions. Learn more about this and how it can aid in caring for our mental health from Calm here.
Spotting signs of exclusion and emotional struggles
Feeling left out can be tough for kids, whether in a game, a conversation, or a group activity. Sometimes, exclusion happens unintentionally, and children may not even realise they’re leaving someone out. Keep an eye out for subtle signs that a child may be struggling emotionally or feeling excluded.
- Withdrawing from group activities
- Reluctance to participate or engage with peers
- Frequent frustration or emotional outbursts
- Low self-confidence when trying new things
How You Can Help
👀 Be Observant- Notice children who seem hesitant to participate or often sit alone.
🤝 Encourage Group Interaction- Plan team-based activities or warm-up games that help kids connect.
🌟 Use Positive Reinforcement- Celebrate inclusive behaviour (e.g., “I love how you made sure everyone was included!”)
💛 Facilitate Friendships- Try implementing a buddy system to ensure no child feels left out.
By fostering an inclusive environment, you help children build social confidence and feel valued, creating a space where everyone belongs.
Activity: Friendship Quest
To create this safe space, consider implementing an initiative or ‘quest’ to ensure this becomes part of the fabric of your club. This could include:
- Partner Warm-Ups: Pair kids for warm-ups (e.g., passing drills in football, mirroring movements in dance, or partner stretches in gymnastics).
- Team Challenges: Small group activities like choreographing a short dance together, completing a gymnastics circuit, or a passing relay in football.
- Inclusion Stars: Reward kids for cheering each other on, helping teammates, or inviting others to join.
- Buddy Swap: Rotate partners regularly to encourage new friendships and teamwork.
- End-of-Session Shoutouts: Ask kids to share who made them feel supported or included that day.
These activities encourage teamwork, build confidence and ensure no child feels left out.
Confidence-Building Activities
Trying something new can feel intimidating, but it’s also how kids grow. Whether it’s learning a new skill, speaking up, or performing in front of others, confidence develops through both practice and encouragement.
Activity: ‘Courage Cards’
✨ Step 1: Kids write down something they’re nervous to try
✨ Step 2: Underneath, they add a positive affirmation (e.g., “I can do hard things!”).
✨ Step 3: They keep the card as a reminder to believe in themselves
By providing a growth mindset- where effort is valued over perfection- kids learn to see challenges as opportunities, not obstacles.
Teaching Healthy Ways to Manage Anxiety and Big Emotions
Big emotions can feel overwhelming, but with the right tools, kids can learn to calm themselves down when they’re anxious, frustrated, or scared.
In Inside Out 2, Riley’s new emotion, Anxiety, appears just as she faces big changes. Just like her, kids sometimes worry about new situations, but learning how to self-soothe and manage stress helps them feel in control.
Activity: “Pause Like Bluey”
Inspired by Bluey, where characters pause and breathe to stay calm!
- Teach a simple breathing exercise: “Small the flower, blow out the candle” (inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth).
- Practice pausing before reacting, just like Bluey does when facing challenges.
By using fun, relatable examples, kids gain real-life strategies to self-regulate their emotions.
For Older Kids & Teens: “Reset & Refocus”
As kids grow, stress can come from school, friendships, or big life changes. Teaching them how to reset their minds helps them manage emotions in a healthy way.
The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise is a good way to encourage them to reset and refocus, helping them handle their emotions.
- Name 5 things you can see
- Name 4 things you can touch
- Name 3 things you can hear
- Name 2 things you can smell
- Name 1 thing you can taste
By encouraging self-awareness and emotional regulation, children and teens develop lifelong stress management skills!
Encouraging Self-Reflection and Growth
In Inside Out, Riley experiences all kinds of emotions as she navigates big changes. Understanding that every experience- successes and setbacks- helps us grow is key to building resilience.
Sometimes kids feel discouraged by a challenge but helping them take the time to reflect can help shift their perspective.
Activity: The Growth Jar
How It Works:
Set up a jar where kids can write something they learned or improved upon during the session
It can be a new skill, an act of kindness, or a moment of bravery
Read a few at the end to celebrate personal growth and progress
By recognising their own progress, kids see that every step forward- big or small- matters. This helps them embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.
Helping Kids “Know Themselves and Grow”
Supporting children’s growth starts with small, intentional actions- encouraging self-awareness, promoting inclusion, and giving them the tools to express their emotions.
As a kids’ activity provider, you have a unique opportunity to create an environment where children feel understood, valued, and empowered to be themselves. By weaving simple activities and meaningful conversations into your sessions, you help shape their confidence and emotional well-being.
Just like Inside Out, every emotion, challenge, and experience play a role in who we become. Let’s give kids the space to understand their feelings, embrace their journey, and celebrate their growth, because every child deserves the chance to thrive.
Win a Mental Health and Fitness Class for Your Club!
For Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, ClassForKids are partnering with Move Your Mind to give away free mental health and fitness classes to kids’ clubs across the UK.
