Courtney Skolka

Living like Finley is a line of children’s products that aims to teach children ages 5 and up about mental health. There is an interactive picture book, a 30 piece puzzle, and stuffed animals of the characters Finley and Cliffy. These different products share the common objective to educate children about what mental health is, how it is okay to feel the way they might be feeling, how it’s important to talk through those feelings, and to provide various activities to help them cope. The interactive picture book is the main tool to educate the children about what mental health is and how to deal with it, the puzzle is an activity that can help them cope with their feelings and be utilized as a distraction when facing these feelings head on, and the stuffed animals are to be used as comfort objects and support. By creating a product line with the goal of educating children of a young age about mental health, a bigger goal that stems from this is to help eliminate the stigma that surrounds mental health in today’s society. By introducing mental health to children, they learn not to be afraid of it and grow up knowing that it is a normal occurrence in life, equipping them with knowledge and tools to handle those experiences.