Mental Health Toys Help Keep Kids at Peace

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How can a little pinwheel fan help kids with emotional balance and mental clarity?

Coming together to support mental health awareness month, Sixpence Program and the Lied Scottsbluff Public Library are supporting children’s mental health with toys like foam building blocks, mental health books, and pinwheels.

These toys can help provide continued learning for kids with mental health issues, helping them in calm-down techniques, like the pinwheels which help kids learn a deep breathing technique.

Kids can “smell” the flower when they put the pinwheel close to their face, and then blow out stress or exhale onto the pinwheel and see the pinwheel move into action.

“As adults, we can teach children how to respond when they are upset,” Tiffany Fuller, the Sixpence Program Coordinator explained to Scottsbluff Starherald. “Although some children have their own way of regulating emotions, some children need extra help.”

Mental health and mental health awareness is vital to children, especially Latino kids, where the prevalence of depressive symptoms among Latino youth is 22%, a rate higher than any other minority group besides Native American youth.

Preschool-aged Latino children need mental health support as well, as research shows that preschool-aged children with parents born in the U.S. were significantly more likely to have unmet mental health needs compared to those with immigrant parents (95.2% vs. 55.6%).

Partnerships between mental health nonprofits and public libraries is a supportive way to bring more mental health awareness to a community, helping to serve the whole child and create a healthy mind for a healthy child.

Schools are also a perfect setting for health and education to work together, making building blocks towards a healthier school, healthier child, and healthier community.

Don’t forget to join our May 9th #SaludTues Tweetchat on “Latino Kids and Healthy Minds,” 1pm ET/ 12pm CST! Click here for more details.