How to boost your child’s wellbeing and happiness

Everyone has ups and downs in mood – it’s natural for mental health to fluctuate in this way. As a parent or carer, it’s a good idea to let your child know they can talk to you about their emotions when they need to.

If your child is finding things difficult right now, it may help to try some mood-boosting tactics.

Encourage your child to collect nice things that people have said or written about them. This could be cards, emails, or feedback from teachers. It could be something a friend has said. Or if the words were spoken in person, suggest your child writes them down.

The process can help to highlight how much they are valued by others, and build self-esteem. Keep the collection in a safe place so your child can find it any time.

Suggest your child writes a letter of support to themselves. If they want, they could address the letter to a “friend”. This friend has the same qualities as your child. They have the same strengths and weaknesses, and feel insecure and sad about the same things.

Ask your child to:

• think about what they’d say to a friend who felt as they do
• write their thoughts down – then address any worries or doubts
• try to be kind, understanding and forgiving – this is also an opportunity to remind the friend of all their good qualities
• keep the letter and re-read it whenever they need encouragement

Make a jar for happy memories. When something good happens, get your child to note it down on a piece of paper, fold it up and put it in the jar. These events can be big or small. Encourage them to:

• them to think of a few happy moments in the past week
• keep noting things down when other positive events take place
• notice the good bits of life – this can help to build gratitude for what they have

Get your child to put aside between 10 minutes and half an hour to relax. Suggest they use the time to focus on doing as little as possible. It should be time to let themselves “be” and reflect on their day, instead of trying to achieve anything.

So they’ll find it easy to take time out, help them to create a peaceful space.

The mood of those around us affects how we feel. This means our behaviour has the power to boost someone else’s mood. Encourage your child to be mindful of this as they go about their day. What type of vibes do they think they’re giving off to those around them?

If something happens during the day to upset them, can they find a positive spin on the situation? Are they sensitive to how others are feeling? Ask what they could do to be kind today and lift someone else’s mood. Think about how your own behaviour – could this be affecting how they’re feeling?

Page last reviewed: January 2026

Next review due: January 2029