Children's Mental Health and Wellbeing
In school you will learn about ways to support your emotions, feelings, wellbeing and mental health through assemblies, PSHE lessons, work using the Zones of Regulation The Zones of Regulation | A Curriculum For Emotional Regulation and maybe through work that you might do with our school Learning Mentor or the Education Mental Health Practitioner.
All of the adults in school are here to listen if you need help with your feelings, wellbeing or worries. Just talk to us! We are here to help you.
How can you help to look after your own mental health and wellbeing?
1. Connect!
Connecting with other people increases our feelings of happiness and self-worth.
Spend time with your friends or family
Message a friend.
Write a letter to someone.
2. Keep active!
Keeping your body active and exercising releases feel-good chemicals in the brain that make us feel great. There are lots of ways to stay active without even leaving your house!
Press-ups, situps, planks- there are lots of different kinds of body weight exercises that keep you fit and importantly make you feel better mentally.
Dance! Put on your favourite tunes and dance away - it doesn’t matter how you look, especially if there’s nobody else around. Dancing is a great way to be active!
Yoga. There are various different types but a quick google search can bring up guides including videos on how to practice some of the basic positions in yoga. It really puts you in touch with your body and makes you feel great.
Play in the garden or at the park with a ball or skipping rope. If you have nobody to play with, practice your skills and kick ups!
Go noodle has fun ways to get moving - see the link here:
3. Learning!
We grow when we challenge ourselves to learn something new. There’s so much out there that can expand your mind and keep you entertained. You might surprise yourself with the things you pick up!
Go to the libraray or online to research topics that interest you. A good place to start is to think “What would I like to spend my time doing if I didn’t have to worry about anything else?”
Languages. Maybe you know a bit of French and want to improve it, or maybe you want to learn how to say a certain phrase in Polish to impress one of your friends. Get online or into books to pick up a new way of communicating!
Learn an instrument. If you start now, think how good you’ll be in a few years?
Challenge yourself to learn one random fact a day.
4. Help Out!
Giving to others has been proven to help us feel better about ourselves. It’s also important that during tough times we help each other out as much as possible.
Do a household task to help out. Maybe it’s the washing up, or changing the dog’s water.
Give someone a compliment. Maybe they really cheered you up the other day, or you’re just glad they are your friend. Tell them!
Be a listening ear. That connection helps everybody!
5. Take notice!
Happiness is often right in front of your eyes - we just sometimes focus on the bad stuff and forget how many good things we’ve got in our lives. It’s time to take notice of the positive things around us.
Write a gratitude list. Write down a list of as many things as you can that you’re happy you have in you life. For example, your house, your bed, your clothes, your family. Our lives are full of things to be grateful for!
Look out of your window. What do you see? What do you hear? Really take in what’s outside. How would you describe your view using three words?
Talk to your family. Take notice of how other people might be feeling.
Getting a good nights sleep and eating healthy foods also help our wellbeing. Time away from screens and time in nature can really help with this too.
If things feel out of control its easy to get worried and frustrated.
- If you can’t control the situation, then the first thing is to accept that it’s out of your control. Say to yourself “I can do nothing to change this, but I can change how I feel” Saying it out loud to yourself makes it real.
- Don’t let your thoughts race ahead to ‘What if?’ We often send ourselves into a panic by playing the ‘What if?’ game with ourselves, but it doesn’t help us - it can just make us worry about things that probably won’t happen. Keep your thoughts in today. For example, ‘Today I will tidy my room, start my homework, and help mum with the laundry’ or ‘Today I will read that next chapter of my book, and
help look after my younger brother’. - Mindfulness. Mindfulness is basically bringing your attention into the present moment. Stop what you’re doing sit in a comfortable chair. Listen to your breathing. Focus on your five senses - what can you
see? What can you hear? Feel? Smell? Taste? Maybe you can smell dinner being cooked downstairs, and it smells good. Maybe you never noticed that pattern on the carpet. Bring yourself back into the present moment away from all the worries of things that don’t necessarily exist. - Breathing exercises. Bringing awareness to our breathing is a great way to get rid of those noisy thoughts. Try this - find a comfortable, quiet place. Start breathing in for 4 seconds through your nose, then
breathe out for 4 seconds through your mouth. In through your nose…2.. 3.. 4.. Out through your mouth… 2.. 3.. 4. Do this for as long as you can, focusing on your breathing, and nothing else. After a few minutes, notice how you feel - you’ll feel much more relaxed! You can do this anytime you feel worried, stressed or unhappy. - The more you learn to put yourself into a relaxed state of mind and deal with stress, the easier you will find it to get through uncertain times. Also, think positively - most of the time things will work out okay in the end, even if you can’t see it right now.
Other places where you can find help with your feelings and worries are:
Childline
Childline can help you on with all sorts of problems you may be worried your child has, including mental health difficulties, any anxieties or issues you may have about your health, living situation or education.
You can call them for free to speak to someone privately. You can contact a Childline counsellor about anything, no problem is too big or too small.
Call free on 0800 11 11 or visit www.childline.org.uk
YoungMinds & CAMHS
YoungMinds are a charitable organisation who work with the Children and Adolescents Mental Health Service (CAMHS) to provide support, advice and counselling to young people experiencing depression, anxiety, bullying and eating difficulties. They offer a parent helpline for parents and carers worried about their children's mental wellbeing.
You can find a guide to support offered at https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/your-guide-to-support/
Their parental helpline can be reached through 0808 802 5544.
Mind
Mind are a nationwide mental health charity who are able to offer information and support for a variety of mental health issues. Working closely with the NHS they have a wide range of resources and information on their website, including an A-Z of Mental Health, advice for helping someone else, guides to support and services and Elefriends - their online community. Everyone is affected by a mental health difficulty at some point in their lifetime and Mind are on hand to help.
Visit their website on https://www.mind.org.uk/
Or call them today on 0300 123 3393 for their infoline.
Healthy Eating
Change4Life is here to help your family be healthier and happier. On their website you can find out more about what's really in the food your family eats. You can get food facts, recipies, information about healthy weights and activities.
Visit their website at https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/food-facts
You can also call the healthy eating healthline on 0300 123 4567
Help for carers
Carers Direct is for anyone who is looking after a family member who is ill or disabled or needs special help. It is part of the NHS website and offers information and advice.
There is a phone number you can call to talk to someone on 0808 802 0202
Or you can visit their website on https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support/carers-assessment/#the-types-of-carer-support-available
Has activities and tools to help with feeling calm and relaxed
- Breathing Exercises
- Expressing yourself
- Yoga Videos
- Play games
- Ways to Cope Videos
