"This is My Place": Cultivating Belonging for Children’s Mental Health Week 2026

on Monday, 09 February 2026. Posted in News

Today marks the start of Children’s Mental Health Week, organised by the charity Place2Be. This year’s theme is "This is My Place," a vital reminder that mental well-being isn't just an individual journey—it’s about the environments we create. The goal this year is to support the "systems" around our children (schools, families, and communities) to ensure every young person feels they truly belong.

Why Belonging is the Foundation of Well-being

Belonging is a fundamental human need. When children feel they have a "place" where they are seen, heard, and accepted, their anxiety levels drop, and their confidence grows. By focusing on the systems around them, we can ensure that home, school, and local clubs aren't just buildings, but communities where every child can say with confidence: "This is my place."

Creating a "Place to Thrive": Lessons from Nature

Just as a plant needs the right environment—the right soil, light, and space—to flourish, children need a supportive "ecosystem" to thrive. We can use the world of plants to help children explore what it means to find their place.

Caring for plants as a group or family can help children:

Foster Connection – Working together to care for a "community garden" or classroom shelf builds shared identity.

Create Roots – Establishing a physical space that a child is responsible for helps them feel grounded.

Celebrate Diversity – Just as a fern thrives in the shade and a cactus loves the sun, children learn that everyone has different needs to feel "at home."

Build Safety – Nurturing a living thing creates a calm, predictable environment that supports emotional regulation.

Finding the Right "Place" for Your Plants

To bring the theme to life, consider how different plants find their "place" in our homes and classrooms. This can be a great metaphor for how we all have different environments where we feel most comfortable:

		Spider Plant – Hardy and adaptable, a great starter plant for kids.
		Aloe Vera – A low-maintenance succulent that also has soothing gel inside.
		Peace Lily – Helps purify the air and thrives in low light.
		Cacti & Succulents – Fun and resilient plants that require minimal watering.
		Pothos (Devil’s Ivy) – Grows quickly, offering a visual reminder of growth and progress.

Bringing the Theme to Life: "Our Shared Space"

This year, let’s move beyond individual growth and focus on shared environments. Schools, nurseries, and families can take part in activities like:

The "Belonging Wall": Create a display where every child adds a leaf or a small potted plant to a communal "garden," symbolising their unique place in the group.

Environment Audits: Ask children, "What makes this room feel like your place?" and let them help decorate or arrange a corner that feels safe to them.

Collaborative Care: Assign "Plant Buddies" where children work in pairs to look after a specific area, emphasising that we all help each other belong.

"My Happy Place" Journals: Encourage children to draw or write about the physical or emotional spaces where they feel most like themselves.

Supporting Children’s Mental Health with Place2Be

For nearly 30 years, Place2Be has been a cornerstone in schools, providing the emotional scaffolding children need. By supporting the adults and systems around a child, they ensure that no young person has to struggle alone.

Let’s use Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 to ensure every child knows they have a seat at the table and a spot in the garden. When we build the right "place," we give our children the roots they need to fly eventually.

For more information on how to get involved, visit www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk.

Tags: #MentalHealthMatters, #ThisIsMyPlace, 9-15 February 2026, Children’s Mental Health Week, Houseplants, Interior landscaping, Place2Be, Plant benefits