They Feel Everything. They Just Don’t Have the Words Yet.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and as a mother and children’s author, I keep coming back to one simple truth: children often feel deeply long before they can explain what they are feeling.

A child may miss someone without knowing the word “missing.” A child may feel sad without being able to say, “I am sad.” A child may carry a memory in a place, a smell, a snack, a song, or a small daily routine. To adults, the reaction may look sudden or confusing. To the child, it may be the only way their body knows how to say, “Something inside me feels too big.”

I saw this closely with my own daughter.

When she was two years old, her aaji and aazoba, her maternal grandmother and grandfather, came from India to visit us in Singapore. In Marathi, that is how we lovingly call them: aaji and aazoba. They stayed with us for a month, and during that time, small routines became very special to her.

One of her favourite things was going to the bus stop with her aazoba. They would sit there together and watch the buses pass by. There was no big activity, no toy, no event. Just a little girl, her grandfather, and buses going by. I still do not know exactly what made that moment so precious for her, but she loved it.

Then they went back to India.

She did not cry dramatically when they left. She did not explain anything. She simply started avoiding video calls with them. Whenever we tried to connect her with aaji and aazoba, she would turn away or refuse to come on camera. At first, we were confused. Was she upset? Was she angry? Was she just being a toddler?

Then one day, she went to the bus stop with her father. He called me from there and said, “She is crying so much. I cannot manage to bring her home.”

The moment he said “bus stop,” I understood.

That was the place she used to go with her aazoba. The memory had found her before the words did. She was missing him, but at two years old, she did not know how to say, “I miss Aazoba.” She did not know how to say, “Seeing them on video call makes me sad.” So she had been avoiding the calls, perhaps because the feeling was too big to face.

That moment stayed with me because it reminded me that children do not always tell us what they feel. Sometimes they show us through behaviour.

Sometimes a Feeling Is Hidden Inside a Small Thing

Another memory came a little later, when my daughter was three. We had returned from Bhopal, where her aaji and aazoba live. One evening, I gave her a rusk. She immediately became happy and said something like, “Like aaji?” because her aaji used to give her rusk during snack time in Bhopal.

To us, it was just a rusk. To her, it was not just food. It was memory. It was routine. It was love.

She was eating happily, and then my husband and I tried to take one. Suddenly, she began crying very hard. We were startled because just seconds earlier, she had been smiling. Then she said, “It is aaji’s toast for me.”

That sentence broke my heart a little.

She was not being possessive. She was trying to protect something that felt emotionally important. That rusk was connected to her grandmother. In her little world, it probably felt like a piece of aaji’s love had travelled back with her.

I did not handle it like a parenting expert with perfect words ready in my pocket. I sat with her first. I let her cry. We sat quietly in the balcony for some time. Later, I gave her some water. When she was calmer, I told her gently that this feeling was called “missing someone,” and that she was feeling sad because aaji and aazoba had gone back.

I told her it is okay to miss someone. We miss the people we love the most.

That was not a big lesson. It was not a perfect moment. It was simply one of those small parenting moments where you realize that a child’s emotional world is much deeper than their vocabulary.

Why Books Help Children Talk About Mental Health

When adults hear the words “mental health,” we may think of therapy, diagnosis, crisis, anxiety, depression, or burnout. Those conversations are important, but children’s mental health also begins in much smaller everyday moments.

It begins when a child learns to say, “I am sad.” It begins when they learn that anger is a feeling, not a bad identity. It begins when they understand that missing someone is normal, that worry can be talked about, that fear can be shared, and that big emotions can be held safely.

This is where books become powerful.

Children often find it easier to talk about a character than to talk directly about themselves. A child may not say, “I feel lonely,” but they may say, “He looks lonely.” A child may not say, “I am angry,” but they may understand a character who roars, stomps, hides, or cries. Stories create a gentle distance. They give children a safe way to point at a feeling without feeling exposed.

For parents and teachers, picture books can open conversations that might otherwise feel difficult to begin. After reading, we can ask simple questions: What do you think the character is feeling? Have you ever felt like that? What helped them feel better? Who could they talk to? What could they do when the feeling felt too big?

These questions are simple, but they build emotional literacy. They help children learn that feelings are not strange, shameful, or bad. Feelings are signals. They are messages from inside us. And with the right words and the right support, children can learn to understand them.

Emotional Literacy Starts Earlier Than We Think

Mental Health Awareness Month is often discussed in adult terms, but children need these conversations too. In fact, early childhood is one of the most important times to help children build emotional language.

Emotional literacy does not mean raising children who never cry, never feel angry, never get overwhelmed, or always respond calmly. That is not childhood. That is unrealistic.

Emotional literacy means helping children name what they feel. It means teaching them that all feelings are allowed, even when all behaviours are not. It means showing them that they can feel angry without hurting others, feel sad without being alone, feel scared and still ask for help, and miss someone without having to hide from the feeling.

Parents, teachers, librarians, caregivers, therapists, and authors all play a role in this. The books we read, the words we use, and the way we respond to big feelings all shape how children understand their inner world.

A child who hears “stop crying” every time they are upset learns one thing. A child who hears “you look sad; I am here” learns something very different.

Children’s Books to Explore for Mental Health Awareness Month

This Mental Health Awareness Month, I wanted to highlight a few children’s books from authors in my circle, along with ChatterChirps titles, that can support conversations around feelings, connection, courage, anxiety, patience, family relationships, grief, body safety, and emotional well-being.

These books may be useful for parents, teachers, caregivers, homeschool families, librarians, and anyone looking for picture books that open gentle conversations with children.

Each of these books can offer a starting point for conversation. Some children may connect with stories about worry or courage. Some may need books about anger and calming down. Some may need stories that show family love, patience, grief, separation, confidence, or feeling safe in their own body. The right book at the right moment can give a child words they did not have before.

Five Simple Things Parents and Teachers Can Do

You do not need to become an emotional development expert to support a child’s mental health. Small, steady responses matter.

First, name feelings out loud. When you say, “You look sad,” or “I think you are frustrated,” you are helping a child connect an inner feeling with a word.

Second, do not rush every feeling away. Sometimes children need comfort before explanation. A hug, some water, a quiet corner, or simply sitting near them can help their body calm before their mind is ready to talk.

Third, use books as conversation starters. You do not have to turn every story into a lesson. One simple question is enough: “Have you ever felt like this character?”

Fourth, make missing someone normal. If a child misses a grandparent, parent, friend, teacher, or place, help them give that feeling somewhere to go. They can draw a picture, look at a photo, make a call, send a voice note, or talk about a favourite memory.

Fifth, let children see that adults have feelings too. When we say, “I am feeling a little tired, so I am going to take a deep breath,” children learn that feelings are normal and manageable.

A Final Note from a Mother Who Is Still Learning

The day my daughter cried at the bus stop, and the day she protected that “aaji’s toast,” I was reminded that children are not small adults with smaller problems. They are full human beings with big emotional lives and still-growing language.

Sometimes they cannot explain what hurts. Sometimes they do not know why they are crying. Sometimes they avoid the thing they miss because seeing it makes the feeling bigger. Sometimes they hold on tightly to a small object because it carries a person, a place, or a memory.

Our job is not always to fix the feeling. Sometimes our job is to sit beside it, name it gently, and let the child know they are not alone.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, I hope more of us choose books, conversations, and small daily moments that help children understand what is happening inside them. Not so they stop feeling deeply, but so they learn that deep feelings can be named, shared, and held safely.

Because they feel everything.

They just do not always have the words yet.

A Note from ChatterChirps

At ChatterChirps, I create children’s books for parents, teachers, and caregivers who want stories that open meaningful conversations with young children. Some of our books help children talk about big feelings and emotional regulation. Some support conversations around body safety, confidence, family love, curiosity, bedtime, science, nature, and the everyday experiences children are trying to understand.

You can explore ChatterChirps books at:
https://chatterchirps.com/stories/ 

You can also visit the Reading Room for more parenting reflections and children’s book resources:
https://chatterchirps.com/reading-room/ 

This Mental Health Awareness Month, let’s give children more than instructions. Let’s give them language, stories, patience, and safe spaces to feel.

Neha Moghe Roy is an award-winning children's book author and the founder of ChatterChirps, a brand dedicated to books that help young children navigate big feelings, real-world safety, and the world around them. Her books are designed for ages 0–8 and are found in homes, classrooms, libraries, and daycares around the world.

Follow along on Instagram for parenting tips, read-aloud ideas, and behind-the-scenes from the ChatterChirps world.

     

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