How to be a (fantastic sensational) good enough kid is the book children, parents and teachers have been waiting for. Alice Peel, co-founder of Grow Your Mind – a ground-breaking wellbeing program that helps children develop resilience – takes on the life skills and emotional dilemmas ‘ good enough’ kids face every day. Packed with great advice on how to be mentally fit and resilient, how to deal with jealousy and other emotions, ‘ non-painful’ ideas to practise gratitude, brain facts and inspiring stories, How to be a (fantastic sensational) good enough kid is the only guide you’ ll need to achieving just that.---from the publisher
256 pages 978-1761170188 Ages 6 and up
Keywords: mental health, mental illness, social situations, dealing with feelings, dealing with emotions, how-to, self image, self acceptance, understanding your feelings, gratitude, mindfulness, resilience, 6 year old, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, 13 year old, 14 year old, 15 year old
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Currently, suicide is the leading cause of death in Australia in males aged 15-49, with over seven a day acting on their belief that death is a better option than life. According to experts, half of all serious mental health issues begin before a child reaches 14, and it is indicative of the seriousness of this situation that, on a blog that focuses on books for those in the 0-8 years age group, there are over 150 titles that have been tagged with the "Mental Health" category.
It seems that helping young kids recognise the symptoms of anxiety and develop strategies to deal with it is not only an exploding problem but one that provides so many with the content around which to develop a context for their stories. Whether fiction, fact or self-help, the need to reach out is unending. And the consequences if we don't are dire as the current "youth crime crisis" as media and politicians and others have tagged a deeper, more troubling issue, demonstrates. Why do these young kids need to go to such extremes so they can post their activities on social media? Why is notoriety so valued? Why do so many feel they have to be fantastic and sensational at any cost? Why is 'good enough' not enough?
This is a new release from the co-founder of Grow Your Mind - "a ground-breaking wellbeing program in over 500 Australian schools that helps children develop resilience, emotional regulation and friendship skills" and which is available as a quality-assured program in the NSW Department of Education’s Student Wellbeing external programs catalogue. Using her professional experience as a teacher and psychologist, and sharing this through an entertaining and engaging format, Peel encourages children to "shift their focus from perfection to progress" as she helps them understand their own thoughts and feelings and how to not only deal with them, but improve them to develop those essential life skills so they can become "proud, glimmer-seeking, awe-hunting and totally good-enough" individuals. Through examples they can relate to, activities to undertake and a text that respects their intelligence, parents, teachers and the kids themselves learn to navigate those challenges that are part and parcel of today's life as they are empowered to understand what is happening and develop their own resilience while also getting an insight into why others respond the way they do and thus building their emotional intelligence.
Based on the four pillars of mental health and wellbeing - positive psychology, social and emotional learning, public health and neuroscience, this would be not only a useful adjunct to those who have the program itself operating in their schools, but also as a standalone to support any wellbeing/mindfulness/mental health curriculum being offered. Teachers' notes directly linked to the Australian Curriculum for Years 3-7 are available.
This review can also be found here.
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
See more of her recommendations:
500 Hats http://500hats.edublogs.org/
The Bottom Shelf http://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
