Create your Own Series by Becky Goddard-Hill

Mental health and well-being are much discussed in the world today, especially about children. This series is ideal for opening up conversations and getting children focusing on their own mental health and self-esteem. Read on for a brilliant post from author Becky Goddard-Hill.

Hi, I’m Becky Goddard-Hill and I am a children’s psychotherapist and the author of a range of wellbeing activity books for kids which I am excited to share with you. They include …

Create Your Own Calm

Create Your Own Happy

Create Your Own Kindness

(with Create your Own Confidence being published next year)

I’d like to tell you a little about the books and the reasons I wrote them.

Create your own series

Crate Your Own Happy was the first book in the series – it teaches kids that they can absolutely impact how happy they are in life through taking control of their own thoughts and actions. That, in fact, they do not have to wait one minute for life to be happy they can create their own happy any time they choose.

The book contains 50 happiness boosting activities, all backed by science and research which is shared with the child. Each activity also comes with an inspirational quote and an explanation of how and why it works. The book is divided into three distinct sections. The first section is teaching a child to make themselves happy, the second section is focussed on happy relationships and the third section is focussed on how to make the world happier.

Activities include – creating a laughter kit, making a tree of gratitude and crafting form the recycling bin.

It contains hours of fun whilst really teaching a child their happiness is (to a large extent) in their hands. I want kids to feel powerful.

Create Your Own Calm and Create Your Own Kindness follow a similar format sharing 50 activities each helping kids to create a kinder and calmer relationships with themselves, others and the world.

The books are creative, entertaining, and just exploding with lovely ideas and tools for life. They are also beautifully illustrated.

Why I wrote the create your own series …

As a children’s therapist and former social worker, I often encounter children who feel that they are powerless and who struggle with their emotional health: low mood and self-esteem, anxiety, anger issues and so on. Children who feel that because of their circumstances they are unable to feel strong, happy and in control. These children often believe that only when things around them will they feel different/better.

Sadly, we cannot always change external events to make a child’s life better, we cannot stop someone dying or make a group of friends embrace your child and stop a relationship breakdown for a child’s sake.

What we can do, and I have seen this work time and time again in practice, is teach children how to be robust and resilient how to think positively and manage those big emotions so they don’t overwhelm them. Given the right tools children really do have the power to change how they feel and empowering kids is the raison d’etre of my books.

They are not just for kids who have emotional or mental health issues though. These books are a great and fun way to tool kids up to deal with the challenges life may throw at them in the future.

By working through the Create Your Own books kids will know how to manage worries, be assertive, be kind to themselves and up their mood.

The FCBG are running a giveaway of this series on our Twitter account so please do head over to RT for your chance to win!