How to be a (fantastic sensational) good enough kid by Alice Peel

Grow Your Mind (GYM) is an Australian mental health initiative built on the belief that starting early is key. Beyond Blue statistics show that half of all serious mental health issues start before the age of 14 years old. Co-founded by Alice Peel, GYM uses neuroscience and storytelling to help children, educators, and families improve social and emotional wellbeing from age 4. 

This new book by Peel offers relatable, practical advice on being resilient, brave, kind, and 'enough'. It is an absolutely jam-packed 250 pages, containing advice, facts, humour, comics, examples, brain breaks, ideas, flowcharts, tables, and more - all supported with bright illustrations. Written in a quirky, conversational style, the book makes readers feel like the author is speaking directly to us, especially in everyday challenges like giving a speech or resolving conflict with a friend. 

A key GYM teaching is that 'there are animals in our brains'. This metaphor makes neuroscience accessible, fun, and memorable for children. For example, the amygdala is the part of our brain that takes note of surroundings and alerts us to danger - it's our guard dog. At times the guard dog gets confused and can overreact. Kids learn how to recognise when their guard dog is in attack mode unnecessarily and use strategies to calm it down and train it for future scenarios. 

Other parts of the brain covered include the pre-frontal cortex (the wise owl), hippocampus (the elephant), insular cortex (sensitive octopus) and reticular activating system (sifting sooty). 

The book can be read cover to cover or dipped into as needed. It encourages readers to take notes, jot down ideas, and interact with its many features: icons mark sections such as stories from real kids, research prompts, and curated recommendations (including podcasts and songs).

This is a brilliant resource for children and for the adults who support them. It reinforces the message that you are already enough, while offering tools to build resilience, navigate tough times and find joy. 

The Grow Your Mind website offers additional support and is well worth visiting for both book-specific resources (including teacher notes, a reflection journal and links to researchers) and more.

Themes: Mental health, resilience, kindness, wellbeing.

Kylie Grant