Every child is born mentally healthy.
Akamai Kids is a Hawai’i-grown SEL curriculum that helps keiki discover the mental health and resilience already inside them, building well-being before problems take hold, not after.
Mental Health Is Innate
We are born with a baseline of physical health, and we are also born with a baseline of mental health and well-being. Akamai Kids helps students recognize the Innate Mental Health inside them, a set of built-in psychological capacities that help us navigate life well.
Just as clouds may temporarily cover the sun without diminishing its light, stressful thinking can obscure these deeper resources, but they are never lost. Our well-being may seem hidden for a while, but it is always there, ready to reappear when our mind becomes more settled and clear.
Keiki are struggling, and coping skills alone are not enough
Across Hawai’i, children face rising anxiety, dysregulation and difficulty focusing, while teachers are asked to do more than ever. Most programs teach children ways to manage a problem. Few show them where their experience actually comes from, and fewer still reach them before problems become entrenched.
51.2% of students reported feeling anxious. 38.3% reported feeling depressed. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among youth ages 10 to 24.
We teach children how their experience works, from the inside out
Thought. Our experience is created through the thoughts we are having in each moment. Two children can face the same situation and experience it completely differently. The takeaway children learn: you can't see a thought, but you can always feel its effects. Thoughts are invisible, but they create every feeling, every mood, and our experience of life.
Feelings. Feelings are created from within and reflect the quality of our thinking, so they naturally change as our thinking changes. The takeaway children learn: feelings are messengers, and they pass.
Innate Health. Beneath busy or stressful thinking, every child has wisdom and well-being that are never lost. The takeaway children learn: underneath it all, I am okay.
As the mind settles, here is what naturally shows up in children:
Natural Self-Esteem
Peace of Mind
Resilience
Intuition
Instinct
Insight
Common Sense
Compassion
Neutrality, Inner Calm
“Gut” Feeling
Wisdom (Na’auao)
Conscience
Deeper Sense of “Knowing”
Innate Intelligence
Understanding
Creativity
Love
Kindness
Curiosity
Serenity
Over time, this inside-out understanding helps children navigate life’s challenges with greater clarity and ease because they learn that healthy psychological functioning comes from within, not from external circumstances. They develop into more caring, compassionate, confident, and responsible human beings.
Hawai’i educators and therapists, working upstream
We help young people understand how their experience is created from the inside out, before crisis, not after, so resilience is already in place when hard days come. Meet the team.
Prevention, not just coping
While many programs teach coping strategies, Akamai Kids focuses on helping children understand the foundations of healthy psychological functioning before problems become crises. This preventive approach supports student well-being and creates healthier school communities.
Mission
To help children understand how their experience of life is created on the inside and access their innate mental health and resilience.
Vision
A world where every child recognizes their inner wisdom and innate mental health, creating more compassionate classrooms, stronger communities, and healthier lives.
Others may not always remember our words, but they will remember the feeling we bring when they were with us.
Mental health is our natural good feeling.
As featured in: Honolulu Star Advertiser, The Maui News, Midweek, and Honolulu Civil Beat
Work With Us
Pilot programs run for 10 weeks at no cost to schools and include teacher support, lesson materials, and outcome tracking. Schools use Akamai Kids as a preventative layer that strengthens student well-being and school climate before challenges take root.
Bring Akamai Kids to your classroom
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Contact
(808) 294-8097
AkamaiKids1@gmail.com