When it comes to your mental health, even the smallest moments of fun can have a big impact. Taking time to be creative or do something you enjoy can relax your mind and make you feel better overall — something that’s as true for kids as it is for adults.
That’s the idea behind a program from the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and Children’s Wisconsin that helps parents and other caregivers prioritize their kids’ mental health through play.
“Play Together, Grow Together” is designed to meet caregivers where they’re at through a series of drop-in events held during the museum’s Community Access Days, when admission is free. “Play is how kids learn,” said Kevin O’Brien, a mental health professional and provider with Children’s Wisconsin. “It's their sort of toolbox for how they just figure out how the world works, but especially how they get along with other people.”
At a recent gathering, licensed behavioral health professionals and museum guests made sensory bottles that let the kids be creative. They added glitter and bright colors, and decorated the outside with gems and beads. But the bottles were a form of emotional regulation, too.
“ It's a simple idea,” explained Molly Murphy Garwood, an early childhood mental health supervisor at Children's Wisconsin. “When children shake up the bottle and see what it looks like on the inside, they can watch as it slowly settles, which slows their breathing, helps them calm and regulate.”
Benefiting from both the activity and its positive impact were a parent participant named Lindsey and her family, who were visiting from Minnesota and joined the session by chance. While they went to the museum for fun, they wound up with some useful tips to take home.
“As a parent, we actually struggle with regulation a lot,” Lindsey said. “We have two very spirited girls. So having the literature on regulation and co-regulation is really helpful, and putting those practices in motion, seeing it as examples.”
Having tangible projects to work on and seeing immediate results are significant benefits to the families in attendance, as well as the museum itself. Nicole Orlando, the Director of Marketing and Communication at Betty Brinn, said bringing a program like this to the space is crucial in supporting childcare and behavioral health.
As she put it, “We're meeting them there and using play to model evidence-based strategies that foster healthy relationships, build resilience and support children's social-emotional growth in those really early and important developmental years.”
A big part of being a parent, grandparent, babysitter or any kind of caregiver is time management. And having access to small but meaningful play-based activities can make a big impact as a child develops mental-health and relationship-building skills that could last a lifetime.
“Five, 10, 15 minutes a day can go a huge amount of the way to just keeping that relationship strong and that foundation strong,” O’Brien said. “So when they do struggle, they know they can come back to you and that you're there to see them, hear them, support them, help them out through the tough times in life.”
