Estonia’s child helpline has seen a steady rise in calls, with one in ten now involving a child’s mental health. The Social Insurance Board (SKA) hopes a new tool will help.
Last month, SKA’s Children’s Welfare Department put together 60 safe boxes to raise awareness and provide practical mental health support for kids.
Safe boxes are personal kits children, teens and even adults can use when facing especially difficult thoughts or feelings. While they do not replace professional care, they can help ground someone and guide them step by step through their safety plan. Â
Also known variously as self-soothing, grounding, emergency or crisis boxes, safe boxes are designed for schools, after-school programs, youth centers and health clinics, where on-site skilled professionals can help kids create and follow a personalized safety plan. Â
Anyone can assemble their own safety box to support a friend or loved one.
Contents in SKA’s safe boxes engage all five senses: mandalas and other coloring pages, scented markers, a harmonica, scented candle, Rubik’s cube, spinner, stress ball, chewing gum, earplugs, tea bags, notepads, a medal, cold and warm packs, a cloth bag, and red and black markers.
Boxes also include lists where users can write their favorite songs, quotes, movies and books, along with mental health exercises, information about the child helpline as well as a set of instructions. Made from natural or recycled materials, even the boxes themselves are designed to be tactile and calming.
“When selecting items, we wanted to engage all the senses — sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch,” said Aile Aedma, a chief prevention specialist in children’s mental health at SKA.
SKA’s new safe boxes. Source: SKA
She explained that the medal represents that everyone can be the best at something, while candles, tea, scented markers and even gum can evoke calming memories.
Rubik’s cubes, harmonicas, spinners and stress balls encourage physical engagement, while earplugs can help reduce auditory sensory overload. Cold and warm packs also provide strong sensory input or warmth, and the cloth bag can carry meaningful items.
While Estonia’s overall suicide rate hit a 25-year low in 2024, according to the National Institute for Health Development (TAI), youth ages 10–19 still accounted for the largest share of suicide deaths.
SKA hopes safe boxes will give more kids access to tools to cope in difficult moments.
Both children and adults can encounter situations where personal experience isn’t enough. SKA’s child helpline, available in Estonian, Russian, and English, is open 24/7 at 116 111.
Callers — from children themselves to parents, teachers or other community members — can seek advice, support or report a child in danger.
In case of emergency, call 112.
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