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MESH Helps formed from a dedicated effort to address the question, "How can we strengthen the skills kids need for their mental, emotional, and social health and build resilience through play?" This initiative began in collaboration with resilience expert Deborah Gilboa, M.D., and involved extensive research leading to the creation of the MESH Helps White Paper. MESHhelps.org was launched to bring crucial conversations about kids' MESH (Mental, Emotional, and Social Health) to the forefront of the toy industry and beyond.
MESH Helps, Inc. became an independent nonprofit entity in December 2023 with a mission to help kids build resilience through play by strengthening the critical skills of mental, emotional, and social health.
Tools for expressing and receiving information and interacting with others.
Research shows we can help build children's resilience through 8 crucial MESH Skills.
Problem Solving
The ability to consider possible solutions to a difficulty the child is experiencing
Perseverence
The act of returning to an obstacle to try again to overcome it.
Adaptation
To adjust oneself to different circumstances or requirements.
Conflict Resolution
Identifying ways to find a peaceful resolution to a dispute.
Self-Regulation
The ability to recognize and manage
emotions and behaviors in healthy ways
Self-Advocacy
The act of representing one's own self, experience, and interests to others.
Cognition
The abilities involved in perception, learning, memory, understanding, reasoning and judgement.
Communication
Through well-documented and researched skills of youth mental, emotional, and social health we created 4 MESH Play Patterns that can help strengthen kids' resilience through play.
MESH Helps appreciates the instrumental contributions from ThinkFun, a division of Ravensburger, in initiating the vital conversations around children's mental health.
ThinkFun's visionary support was pivotal in the research and formation of the work with Dr. Deborah Gilboa to understand the need for MESH (Mental, Emotional, and Social Health) to help kids build resilience through play.
In September 2024, we proudly launched the first-ever group of products to receive MESH Accreditation. This milestone included 150 product submissions from 39 companies, covering a diverse range of games, puzzles, construction sets, and creative kits all rigorously reviewed for accreditation by the independent experts at FUNdamentally Children. These pioneering companies are leading the way in recognizing and addressing the urgent need to support youth mental health, demonstrating a shared commitment to helping children thrive in an increasingly complex world.
Download the full list of products with MESH Accreditation to learn more.
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