The HappySelf Journal

The consequences of social media on user’s behaviour and mental health has never been more prevalent either in our conversations or on the news. But what can we do as parents to develop healthy behaviours for our children and promote awareness of their own happiness and that of others? How can we form a good foundation for them to use these platforms responsibly and resiliently in the future? We cannot just simply ban our children from using social media – for kids born in this age it’s not a realistic solution without going completely off-grid! It is however our job to guide, promote and reinforce good practice and behaviour with tools such as the Happyself Journal maybe?

A daily journal for kids promoting healthy habits for life.

The HappySelf Journal is a daily journal for children aged 6 to 12, based on scientifically proven methods that promote happiness, develops healthy habits for life and seeks to nurture enquiring minds. The journal is illustrated and easy to use with just a few minutes focus each day. Children benefit by being encouraged to express gratitude, reflect on their emotions and think about their actions.

An analogue solution to a digital problem?

The problem – according to creator Francesca Greens @francescagreens
As a mum of a 7 and 11-year-old, back in early 2017, I was getting increasingly frustrated at the press constantly telling us kids are growing up stressed and that mental health issues were on the rise. At the same time, in my tech and productivity consultancy, I noticed a trend for a return to analogue: pen and paper planning preferred to apps, journaling over social media and mindfulness over time online.

The start of the solution
Many of my clients, myself included, were working on improving their habits and mindsets to achieve balanced, happy lives with better mental health, wellbeing, mindfulness, focus and improved productivity. At the same time, we worked hard at home to improve our digital resilience and reduce our family’s collective time online. I witnessed the impact of daily journaling, reduced screen-time, mindfulness and gratitude practice on my wellbeing and how simple changes to our home life made a big difference to the kids. We have ‘switch-off-weekends’, share our ‘top three things’ at the dinner table and my daughter started journaling as she saw me do it every day.

Researching the issues
I wanted to give both kids a simple journal but couldn’t find what I wanted, so set out to make something that incorporates all those habits that science has shown to help us lead happier lives and encourage a growth mindset. Fast- forward to summer 2018 and the journal is going to print having been tested with dozens of children, aged 6 to 12. I’ve completed an online course at the University of California, Berkeley to delve deep into published papers underpinning the science of happiness; looked at how schools are introducing the growth mindset concept; spoken to experts in child psychology and education as well as numerous parents and teachers.

Finding my own answers
The result is a really simple daily journal that can be completed in less than a few minutes. It is beautifully illustrated and with plenty of variety to keep kids engaged, all the while developing important habits that will set them up for life. I’ve also started a podcast called The Curious Parent to explore the wider topic of the skills children need these days to be world-ready. And over on the blog I write about our own experiences and experiments when it comes to raising our world-ready kids. These were the answers I found to the issues facing my kids and many like them. I’m confident they will help your kids’ too.

My kids have been instrumental in helping make the content just right and have been my inspiration all along. So from my family to yours I hope this journal gives your children the foundations for a happy and balanced life.

The HappySelf journal

£19.90 from www.happyselfjournal.com