Wellbeing
Student and Family Wellbeing
Information and links for students and parents:
Primary - It is not uncommon for us all to experience anxiety at times of uncertainty and in response to distressing information presented in the media. Many of our children have been hearing about COVID-19 for weeks at school, from friends, on the news, and at home, and while they might not know how to appropriately express their feelings about the situation, they might be holding on to some worries. This is a great resource for children - https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-kids-guide.html
Tips for parents of younger children:
High School - Reachout.com have some great advice for teens. It is so important for teenagers (and adults) to focus on what you can control, COVID-19 seems to be everywhere and may be impacting on your school, your employment, your travel plans and your social activities with friends.
Tips for teenagers:
Tips for parents of adolescents:
Information and links for students and parents:
Primary - It is not uncommon for us all to experience anxiety at times of uncertainty and in response to distressing information presented in the media. Many of our children have been hearing about COVID-19 for weeks at school, from friends, on the news, and at home, and while they might not know how to appropriately express their feelings about the situation, they might be holding on to some worries. This is a great resource for children - https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-kids-guide.html
Tips for parents of younger children:
- Be available to talk and reassure: Children can have big questions, and it’s okay to answer them. Take cues from your child and offer clear but concise answers in developmentally appropriate language. Keep the focus on what you are doing to prepare and prevention strategies that are within your control like proper hand-washing and avoiding large crowds.
- Manage your own feelings: Children will use you as a role model on how we should be feeling at this time. Let go of any concerns about your children's academic outcomes and focus on ensuring that they feel safe. The quality of your relationship is of primary importance during these stressful times.
- Limit news exposure: Even when it seems like they’re not listening, children pick up on what they hear on TV and radio. Hearing unfamiliar words like pandemic and outbreak can be fear-inducing. Opt for watching or listening to news reports when your child is in bed or choose to read news articles if possible. This may also include limiting our conversations about what we are hearing on the news. Reassure children that doctors and government officials are working hard to make sure families stay safe.
- Stick to routines and boundaries: Children thrive with routines and boundaries, and predictability can be very comforting in anxious times. When some things feel out of control, routines can give them a sense of security. Write your daily routine on a whiteboard or make a paper schedule together and make sure that you include fun activities in your daily routine!
- Acknowledge the worries: It’s completely okay to acknowledge our children's worries rather than ignoring them. Acknowledging worries won’t solidify them but it will help your child understand that worry is a protective feeling that alerts us to potential danger. The smoke alarm analogy can be helpful when explaining anxiety. Smoke alarms are really helpful for alerting us to danger when there’s a fire and we need to get out of the building. But sometimes smoke alarms go off even when there isn’t a big danger, like when we burn toast. Anxiety does the same thing, telling us that there is a big danger, even if the situation is not that big. Be aware that children's anxiety may manifest as psychosomatic symptoms such as stomach aches.
- Take time to play & practice gratitude: Make time to enjoy being active together, laughing together, enjoy each other's company.
High School - Reachout.com have some great advice for teens. It is so important for teenagers (and adults) to focus on what you can control, COVID-19 seems to be everywhere and may be impacting on your school, your employment, your travel plans and your social activities with friends.
Tips for teenagers:
- Stay grounded - Reachout.com talk about focusing on 'stability rocks' which are things like having a routine, getting up at the same time and really focusing your attention on what you are currently doing (rather than allowing your anxious thoughts to take over). Engaging with any online learning that your school has set is a great way to keep a regular routine. Getting up and 'going to school' online gives your day structure and meaning. Make sure you take regular breaks and ask for help from your teachers when you need it - schools are still open so you can ask for help when you need it.
- Stay up to date with the facts but limit your media intake to a few times a day so you don't feel overwhelmed. Refer to the government recommended websites for your information, be wary of believing everything you see on social media, and know that it is OK to take a break from the news for a while.
- Acknowledge your feelings - gently and kindly acknowledge whatever emotions are going on for you, be curious about why you might be feeling that way.
- Try a wellbeing app like Smiling Mind https://www.smilingmind.com.au/) or search for mindfulness and meditations on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/). While you are on Spotify, how about making a music playlist of your favourite songs or even make a group playlist and ask your friends to add songs to it.
- Be great - what are your strengths? Spend at least 30 minutes a day doing something that you are great at, play an instrument, draw, dance, look after others, the possibilities are endless! While you are being great, how about watching or reading something inspiring for a bit of a break from the doom and gloom on the news.
- Find ways to talk to others - online, text or phone - can you host a virtual get together where you all face time and chat? Try to keep the chat as positive and lighthearted as you can.
- Stay active & make healthy food choices - exercise is really good for our physical and mental health, there are now lots of different types of exercise you can do from home thanks to youtube and other apps. Whilst we are social distancing we can still go into the garden and spend time with nature. Now is a great time to try a new recipe and focus on your health.
- Talk to a professional if you need to - sometimes things can get overwhelming even if you are practicing self care. There are some great online and telephone options such as headspace and kids helpline. You can still access your school counsellor and, if you were already seeing them they will be glad to hear from you. You can ring the school and ask to speak to the counsellor.
Tips for parents of adolescents:
- Normalize Anxiety and other emotions - Listen with openness and empathy to your adolescent's fears, reassure them that it is normal to feel these emotions in the current situation. They may also feel disappointed and a sense of loss at missing important events and opportunities, and lonely due to not being able to see their friends and physically be in their social groups. Show that you understand the way they feel, and you may share some of your own similar feelings about things you are missing out on also.
- Manage your own anxiety - support them through your own work at being calm to improve stress levels in the household, and to model positive coping strategies.
- Opportunities to talk and problem solve - provide your adolescent opportunities to converse about the current situation, help them develop perspectives that are realistic, and collaborate with them on what they can do as individuals, what you can do as a family, and what we can all do as a broader community to cope with COVID-19.
- Social connection - whilst we need to maintain boundaries around the use of social media and devices, especially to ensure they are getting enough sleep, we need to be conscious of the very real developmental need to socialize with peers. If they are not attending school, they will need opportunities during their day to connect electronically with friends. This may mean some more flexible (within reason) rules around this than they usually have at home.
- Promote healthy distraction - make sure that adolescents aren't overly focused on information and media reports about COVID-19. It's important that they are informed, but equally important they aren't overwhelmed. Encourage their focus and time spent on other things they like to engage in, hobbies, the work being set up by schools to complete at home etc.
- Connection - find ways to have fun as a family. Dust off the board games, set up a weekly movie night. Teach them to cook and help out with some of the family "we are in this together" jobs that need to be done. Find a project in the yard to do together.