On Mental Health

I think I made this in 3rd or 4th grade, and I'm so happy I somehow kept up with it after all these years! The importance of it resonates now more than ever.

I'm thankful for the little lessons peppered into my childhood about mental health. It was not as big of a topic when I was growing up as it is today, but these little seeds mattered a lot.

Children need to hear that they are enough. We all need to hear that we matter and that we are worthy of love, especially as kids. The messages we receive in childhood, both implicit and explicitly, become the bedrock of how we see ourselves and the world around us. If we hear that we matter, we learn to treat ourselves and others with kindness.

Yet, not enough of us receive these messages. Living in a performance and achievement driven society, even little messages about self-worth struggle to register amidst a sea of social programming to the contrary.

What can we do better to model positive mental health to kids today?

[PS: I have still not learned how to draw curly hair, but I'm so proud of my efforts here and this power stance I came up with. YAY! GO!]