20+ Free Mental Health Activities To Help Your Kids Have a Mindful Summer 2024
Summer 2024 is finally here! If you’re a parent, maybe this has been the talk of your household over the last few weeks and months. Filled with constant questions from your kids such as “How many months until summer break?”. You, as a parent, may have been asking this for different reasons.
Summer time can often feel difficult as parents need to navigate activities to occupy their children’s once busy day of school without breaking the bank, but also to help beat summer boredom for their younger kids, preteens and teens. The new responsibility of having to keep your children’s schedule packed and mitigating excessive screen time, while often juggling a full time role themselves, can be quite the challenge.
When it comes to our kids though, is summertime truly the restful reset we think it is?
Why is summer break good for students’ mental health?
For some, this isn’t always the case, and students might be struggling to integrate into a healthy summer than ever before. In fact, as students were closing out the academic year in the last weeks of April 2024, 27% of Crisis Text Line conversations included mentions of school stress.
Although students take physical breaks from schoolwork, their mental health never truly takes a vacation, and sometimes the disruption of routine can negatively affect them. If not attended to, it’s possible that kids’ mental health can see a decline during the same time of year they’re expected to be having the most down time. And while throughout the year schools are often doing the best they can, they can only do so much for your kids. Work also needs to be done at home with our children to best nurture their mental health. With Crisis Text Line’s Parent’s Toolkit for Summer 2024 you have the foundation to nurture your children’s mental health at home, for whatever grade they are in. This free, online toolkit has everything from coloring sheets to affirmational worksheets to mental health tips fit for you and your elementary, middle or high school-aged child. This toolkit will provide your student with mental health activities to do at home this summer that can be incredibly beneficial for them!
Check out the Parent’s Toolkit as an effective way to connect and check-in with the students in your life.
What do kids’ need to have a mindful summer?
Crisis Text Line and Common Good Labs provided a report sharing out what things adolescents need from their communities during the epidemic of depression and suicide. So while there is no definite list, adolescents mentioned six resources they need from their communities to cope with crises. This list included opportunities for social connection, mental health services, books and audio books, engagement in music and the arts, and outdoor spaces in nature. That’s why our team at Crisis Text Line has created the Ultimate Parent’s Toolkit for Summer 2024 PDF to help you and your family have a more mindful season that any schedule can allow.
What are the benefits of mental health activities for kids?
The 2023-2024 academic year was one filled with anxiety and stress for our young texters. Anxiety and stress were the top issues in our conversations this year, and self-harm and bullying surged for a third consecutive year. It’s safe to say, any at-home mental health check-ins and engagements will prove to be beneficial to the mental wellbeing of your child or any students in your life. Engaging in mental health activities at home, and not just relying on schools to do so, can truly equip children with the social and emotional skills they need, setting the foundation for a healthier, more resilient future.
How can I help my kids with their mental health this summer?
We’re so glad you asked. Crisis Text Line has created a Parent’s Toolkit for Summer 2024 to help beat summer boredom and provide fun activities for kids. This PDF is filled with free printable summer activity sheets curated to keep your child busy and their mind nourished all of summer 2024. Bring these summer activities to your home and have some fun this warm season!
Not a parent? This toolkit is for any young children, preteens, or teens in your life. Check out our Teacher Tools for Student Mental Health.
We’re here for you and your kids. They can always text SCHOOL to 741741 if they ever need to vent and will be connected with a volunteer Crisis Counselor any time of the day. Download the Parents Toolkit for Summer 2024 now.
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