Places of Belonging: A Reflection on Children’s Mental Health

Belonging doesn't always have walls

Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 (9^th-15^th Feb) is centred around the theme ‘This Is My Place’. At its heart, this theme invites us to reflect on belonging – where children feel safe, accepted, understood and able to be themselves. A sense of place is not just about physical spaces; it is deeply emotional, relational and psychological. Although my professional work sits primarily within adult social care and education, children’s mental health and wellbeing is a topic very close to my heart. Alongside my work, I am also a parent and a home-educating mum, and that perspective inevitably shapes how I think about belonging, safety and emotional wellbeing. Viewed through both professional and personal lenses, this year’s theme has prompted reflection not just on where children are placed, but where they truly feel they belong.

Belonging is a foundational human need. For children, feeling that they have a place in the world – somewhere they are valued and not required to perform, mask or fit into predefined boxes – is closely linked to emotional wellbeing, resilience and self‑esteem. When children feel they belong, they are more likely to feel secure enough to explore, learn, take risks and express who they are.

As a home-educating parent, this theme resonates deeply with me. Through recent conversations with my son about his ‘places’ of belonging, his responses were thoughtful and telling. His sense of ‘place’ was not defined by buildings or institutions, but by how he feels in certain environments – outdoors in nature, with his forest school peers, during his music lessons alongside other musicians, and at home, with family and his personal possessions. When we talked about long term travel, he said something that really stayed with me: “I love travelling, but I love coming home.” These are the spaces where he feels free to move, explore, ask questions and be himself, without pressure or expectation. It was a powerful reminder that a child’s sense of belonging often looks very different from what adults assume it should.

For some children, ‘my place’ might be school. For others, it may be home, a forest school, a sports club, a grandparent’s kitchen, or a quiet corner where they feel unobserved but safe. None of these are more valid than the others. What matters is not the setting, but the experience of being accepted and understood.

When children feel they don’t belong, when they feel different, unseen or misunderstood, this can show up in many ways: withdrawal, anxiety, anger, shutdown, or behaviours that adults find challenging. These are not signs of ‘bad behaviour’, but signals of unmet needs. Belonging is not a ‘nice extra’; it is protective for mental health.

Organisations such as Place2Be highlight the importance of safe, supportive relationships and environments in supporting children’s mental wellbeing. Their work reminds us that children thrive when they feel emotionally held, listened to and valued – when they know they have a place where they matter.

This year’s theme encourages us to slow down and ask better questions:

• Where does this child feel most like themselves?

• Where do they feel safe enough to relax?

• Who do they feel understood by?

These questions matter not just during Children’s Mental Health Week, but every day. Creating a sense of belonging is not about forcing children to fit into existing systems; it’s about shaping environments around the child.

Some reflections for you, if you choose:

• Where did you feel a sense of belonging as a child?

• Where do the children in your life seem most at ease, and why?

• What might change if we prioritised belonging as much as achievement?

Children’s mental health is not built solely through interventions. It is built in everyday moments, relationships and environments where children feel they have a place – not because they perform, comply or conform, but because they just are.