- Definition
Mental health is about how well your child feels, thinks, and acts to enjoy life and handle daily challenges. It's about their overall emotional well-being, including feeling good about themselves and connecting with others.
Taking a few deep breaths when you feel frustrated is a way to take care of your mental health.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: Mental health is like the weather inside you — sometimes it's sunny and calm, and sometimes it's stormy.
Ask your child: What is the weather like inside you today?
Common mix-up: Kids may think mental health is only about feeling sad or worried. It's actually about noticing and taking care of all our feelings, the happy ones too.
Examples
- Telling a grown-up you feel sad about something is a way to share your feelings.
- Taking a quiet moment to yourself when you feel overwhelmed helps your mind rest.
mental health is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
- Grade 1 Health and Physical Education
- Grade 2 Health and Physical Education
- Grade 3 Health and Physical Education
- Grade 4 Health and Physical Education
+30 more mentions across the curriculum
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
