The Importance of Children’s Mental Health and Emotional Literacy in Families and Schools.
The Netflix series Adolescence has captured the attention of parents, teachers and adults all over the UK, and it’s no surprise as the series serves as a powerful cautionary tale about the dangers of excessive screen time and the consequences of emotional neglect. It reminds us that human connection, family time, and open conversations about feelings are crucial in guiding children and teenagers away from harmful online influences.
The series highlights the urgent need to engage with young people, to listen, support, and help them navigate the challenges of growing up, staying grounded and connected in an increasingly digital world.
These themes, recently explored in the Nip In The Bud film “A Stolen Childhood” are deeply connected to the importance of children’s mental health and emotional literacy —issues that must be addressed both at home and in schools.
Breaking the Cycle of Emotional Suppression
From an early age, some children, particularly boys, are often taught to suppress emotions like sadness, fear, and vulnerability. Instead, they may be encouraged—directly or indirectly—to express themselves through anger or disengagement. This emotional repression can manifest in harmful ways, from difficulty forming healthy relationships to aggression and self-destructive behaviours.
Encouraging children to acknowledge and articulate their emotions fosters resilience and self-awareness. Parents and caregivers can help by normalising conversations about feelings, teaching that emotions are not a sign of weakness but that they are in fact, an essential part of human experience.
Our Q&A series with Dr Bettina Hohnen has been created very specifically to answer questions from parents and carers on how to start conversations on potentially difficult topics. We also talk to Bettina about building trust with your child in our “Early Intervention” series of films.
The Role of Schools in Emotional Literacy
While families set the foundation for emotional intelligence, schools provide the structure and reinforcement needed to develop these skills further. Teachers and school staff are often the first to recognise when a child is struggling with their emotions, whether it be anxiety, anger, or social difficulties. Incorporating emotional literacy into the school curriculum can create a more supportive environment for all students.
Key strategies schools can implement include:
- Embedding Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) into daily lessons to help children build empathy, self-regulation, and communication skills.
- Training teachers to recognise signs of emotional distress and provide supportive interventions (see more in our Tips for Teachers)
- Encouraging open discussions about mental health and well-being, helping to reduce stigma around emotional struggles.
- Providing access to school counsellors or mental health professionals for children in need of additional support.
- For detailed support you can also access link on our Get Support section.
Other resources to help with this include:
- Check in, check up, check out is all about talking through emotions.
- Our “Feelings Wheel” gives children the language to speak about their emotions.
- Check out our colour coding emotions tool which helps make sense out of how we are feeling.
