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Are we talking about mental health a bit too much? Yes.
Good wellbeing comes from doing good things, not simply being told you are doing good things.
While I acknowledge the importance of discussing and ensuring wellbeing in school, I worry we have gone too far. Here’s an allegorical tale to illustrate.
Imagine two local soccer clubs, The Westport Dragons and The Apex Bears, whose club houses are only a few suburbs away and have been evenly matched for years. The coaches of both teams’ under 13 divisions — Phil for the Dragons and Sam for the Bears — attend a sporting conference. One of the presentations is on the importance of children having good mental health and ways to encourage it.
Both Phil and Sam enjoy this presentation. Phil, known for being firm and fair, listens to the speaker discuss the link between wellbeing and sport, and feels very good that he is already helping children. As a result of the talk, he becomes a little more aware of what to do if he does see a child who is not their usual self and might be having issues.
But other than that, Phil is confident that playing soccer and the positive team environment is giving children a great place to get to know other kids, be an important member of a team, slowly improve their skills, and gain the mental…
