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I was walking through the drug store today and I saw a great book for young children struggling with understanding of moods. It’s called The Many Moods of Me Journal by Klutz. Not only does it encourage the journalling of a young person’s mood but it also teaches the child about feelings and moods. I think this is perfect, age-appropriate information for children who need to understand that moods vary and can be extreme in cases of mental illnesses like bipolar disorder. I think this would be a perfect teaching tool for teaching a young child about bipolar disorder and educating them about their own moods too.
I have recommended many times that adults with bipolar track their moods to look for patterns and triggers and so on but there’s really no reason why this can’t work for kids too. This will help develop a child’s emotional intelligence (EQ) which is just as important as intellectual intelligence in the real world. And if your child is having trouble with his or her own moods (maybe developing pediatric bipolar disorder) then this will help you catch it and maybe turn it around (or get treatment) while the issue is small.
The Many Moods of Me Journal is also full of fun colors and illustrations and comes with a multi-color pen and mood change ring. (Okay, aimed at girls, granted.) Maybe it’s a perfect Christmas gift for someone you love?
(In case you were wondering, I have nothing to do with this book and no one contacted me about endorsing it; I just thought you might find it useful.)
Natasha Tracy is an award-winning writer, speaker, advocate, and consultant from the Pacific Northwest. She has been living with bipolar disorder for 26 years and has written more than 2000 articles on the subject.
Find more of Natasha’s work in her acclaimed book: "Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar" on Amazon.
Connect with Natasha at the social media links below.
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Love the pic. It surely helps :)
Natasha, I am having so much trouble trying to have my family even try to understand bipolar/depression and the anxiety issues that I have (diagnosed in 2002) that I clicked here to see if I could explain it to them like they were 5 yrs old. Just a little humor. So tired of crying about it, at this point, I figured I’d try to laugh about it. It is sad though. I think I’m just going to give up trying with them. It’s just making it harder on me.
Hi Alivia,
I’m sorry you’re having that experience — it is very hard. You might want to read this as I just wrote it about that situation and what you might do for you: http://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/breakingbipolar/2015/12/when-your-loved-ones-dont-believe-in-mental-illness/
– Natasha Tracy
Speaking of the mind and emotions…
There’s a cute Disney Pixar move called Inside Out
that takes you inside the mind and emotions of an
11 year old girl named Riley. The primary emotions
of joy, sadness, fear, anger and disgust as
experienced by the child. It’s very well done.
Something children can relate to…
Natasha, several years ago a book review was published in the “NAMI Advocate” for a children’s book called “Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry” by Bebe Moore Campbell. It talks about what I call the “anger rages” of bipolar disorder, both interpreting them and illustrating ways a child can cope during those times. Coping, I was pleased to see, included having support (in this case, the child’s grandmother).
I bought the book myself out of curiosity, having experienced so many of my own ex’s anger rages and figuring I could probably relate in some respects to what the child was experiencing. I found I did, and could recommend this book as well for a child living with a parent who has bipolar (and maybe for the parent and child to discuss in the calmer times).
The URL at Amazon is http://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-My-Mommy-Gets-Angry/dp/0399239723/ .