It might sound like an impossible task but you really can make your kids happy and turn even the most sullen child into a smiling delight.

Far more than eating their greens, gaining A-grades at school and tidying their rooms, most parents simply want their kids to be happy.

But with British children ranking near the bottom of international happiness tables and the nation facing a crisis in young peoples’ mental health, one man is on a mission to help children learn to become and stay cheerful and contented.

Simon Benn, the UK’s first children’s happiness coach, helps seven to 11-year-olds learn emotional intelligence in a child-friendly way.

Simon says: “These days there’s a lot more pressure on kids, including pressure to be perfect and popular on social media.

Most parents simply want their kids to be happy

“I use the metaphor of The Juicer to describe how feelings come from thoughts just like juice come from fruit. I teach kids how to put happy apples, confident coconuts and resilient raspberries into The Juicer to feel happy, confident and resilient.

“In each session, there’s a moment when a child grins as they realise they can control their own thoughts and therefore think themselves happy.”

Simon adds: “Helping our children this way now will help them have a happier future.”


Here, Simon shares his Top 10 tips for helping your children...

1. Ask what they love doing with you. Then do more

It sounds like common sense but it’s not common practice. Create more space for kids to try out new things. Many have an inner critic saying, “you’re not good enough”. But doing something they love drowns it out.

2. Ask what they don’t like doing. Then do less of that

Instead of packing them off to extra maths tuition after school to prepare for university one day, have you considered that they might not be academic and might prefer practical training? Too many goals overwhelm children. But when they find what they love, they soar.

Happy kids learn more

3. Encourage your child more

Instead of asking what they think they did wrong, ask how they think they can do better next time. Kids learn far more from inspiration than instruction.

4. Do more of what makes you happy

Children do what we do, not what we say. They follow our lead, so if you’re happier, they’ll be happier. If you’re less stressed your kids really do notice and their mood will lift too.

5. If your child says they can’t do something, reply with one word: ‘Yet’

We don’t learn to ride a bike by going to a seminar, we have to get out there and try new experiences. Kids have a natural tendency to grow and learn so bring that out in them and they’ll discover their own wisdom.

6. Praise your child even if they don’t succeed

Praising the effort rather than the outcome means your child will keep trying new things, not just things they know they can do easily – and they’ll find their success tastes even sweeter.

7. Ask your child to remember their favourite memories when they’re sad

Encourage them to think about what they saw and smelled, who they were with, what did they say and what was the weather like?

Then I ask them how they feel. They always grin and say they feel great, and I have given them proof that feelings come from our own thoughts.

8. Tell your child they’re a ball and will bounce back

Our children were born resilient. They were born perfect but a whirlwind of thoughts has changed them but that’s not who they really are.

By thinking back to some perfectly happy memories, we can become beautiful again.

9. Teach optimism

Each night, ask your children to write in a journal three things that went really well that day. They can then read this if they feel sad.

10. Stop teaching, start playing

Happy kids learn more. When children feel safe and happy they tend to sleep better, have healthier immune systems, learn faster and are more resilient.

  • Download a free Juicer comic for your child at