Children's Mental Health Week: Digital Wellbeing Resources
Resources and conversation starters for schools and families during Children's Mental Health Week, focusing on the link between digital habits and wellbeing.
Children's Mental Health Week, held each February, is an opportunity to focus on the emotional wellbeing of children and young people. Digital habits — social media use, screen time, online relationships — are now central to many children's mental health experiences. This resource pack provides practical conversation starters, classroom activities, and family actions for the week.
Start with a family wellbeing check-in
Use Children's Mental Health Week as a prompt to ask every family member — including adults — how they feel their digital habits have been affecting them. Keep the tone curious and non-judgmental. The goal is conversation, not surveillance.
Use the 'mood check' activity in school
Ask students to rate their mood before and after a 20-minute period on their most-used social media platform. Collect anonymous results and discuss the patterns as a class. Most groups find meaningful variation — some feel better, some worse — which creates a genuine, data-driven starting point for discussion.
Talk about online comparison
Children's Mental Health Week themes often include comparison and belonging. Make the connection explicit: social media feeds are heavily curated, and comparing your real life to someone else's highlight reel is a recipe for feeling inadequate. This is a message that benefits from repetition, not just a one-off assembly.
Signpost mental health support
Ensure children know how to access support if they are struggling. Childline (0800 1111) is free, confidential, and available 24 hours. Young Minds (youngminds.org.uk) has resources specifically for young people. Make sure staff know the school's referral pathways for pupils who may need additional support.
Related safety topics
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.