This week has been Children’s Mental Health week with the theme of kindness at its core. I sat in a classroom doing an observation this week and there was a framed poster in the corner of the room saying: Work Hard, Play Hard, Be Kind. That sums up what I believe makes for a happy and harmonious world.
I looked up Children’s Mental Health Week and read about the reason for choosing kindness as a theme. It said:
Kindness is a simple way to help EVERYONE. When we are kind to each other, it helps us to feel connected, which means we forge new friendships or deepen existing ones. Choosing to approach your day with a mindset of kindness and empathy is an incredibly powerful thing that can change lives and create a kinder world. What we do matters.
Research has also shown that when we’re kind, when someone is kind to us or even if we just witness kindness, our bodies release feel-good hormones which lift our mood, giving us what’s known as a ‘Helper’s High’. It’s also been shown that people who are kind have much lower stress levels, age more slowly and have healthier hearts. Kindness isn’t just a nice thing to do, but can help us improve our own well-being, while helping others at the same time. And Children’s Mental Health Week is a perfect time to start!
Perfect – I could not have put it better myself. I hope you have all had a great time being kind all week and I hope this continues over the coming weeks and months.
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” – Clare Pooley
Reach Behaviour 