Mental health, children and the power of reading New genre of children’s books gives mental health an accessible platform
about an hour ago
In what has been a tumultuous year, talking about mental health, anxiety and the importance of expressing your feelings with children is more necessary than ever.
But what is the best way to bring up these complicated topics with children?
A new genre of children’s literature has broken through in recent years, broaching these difficult, and perhaps formerly taboo, subjects, through accessible writing and illustration.
Áine Murray’s first book, which was released earlier this year, discusses anxiety. The Pain in the Chest uses rhyme and whimsical illustration to start a conversation with children about the topic. “The main message is to start talking about these things, normalising discussing mental health, and making people aware that it is okay to talk about it from a very young age,” says Murray.