Western Community Primary School

In honour of Children’s Mental Health Week this week – 06/02/23-10/02/23, we have created this newsletter full of helpful hints, tips and resources for our families to use.

We hope you find these useful and that you and your child will join us in recognizing and celebrating the importance of Children’s mental health week!

Thank you,

CGS team

Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity with over 25 years’ experience working with pupils, families and staff in UK schools.

This year, Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 will take place from 6-12 February 2023 and the theme is Let’s Connect.

Let’s Connect is about making meaningful connections. People thrive in communities, and this connection is vital for our wellbeing. When we have healthy connections – to family, friends and others – this can support our mental health and our sense of wellbeing.

For Children’s Mental Health Week 2023, we’re encouraging people to connect with others in healthy, rewarding and meaningful ways.

As parents and carers, you are an important role model to your child. How you connect with friends and family will influence your child, and how they develop their own friendships and relationships. For example, how you greet people and maintain friendships, but also how you forgive people or say sorry when you need to. What can you do?

Here are a few simple ways you can connect with your child and help them to make meaningful connections:

1. Connect with your child in everyday ways.

Moments of connection (and re-connection) are really important in child-caregiver relationships. For example, when you pick them up from school, or come in from work, try to give them your full attention and see if this helps you feel better connected as you hug, talk, smile and hear about their day. Watching your child play and joining in is really important to them – so put your phone away and have a bit of fun – being playful is good for adults, too!

2. Talk to your child about important connections

This could include talking about family members, friends, neighbours, childminders, people in the local community and others in your faith group (if you have one). Remember it’s ok to talk about people they miss, for example, family members who live in a different country or people who have died. Children learn a lot from their parents about how to express their feelings, including the joy that comes with feeling connected to others and the sadness that comes with missing others.

Looking for free practical advice to help you support your child?

Parenting Smart, Place2Be’s site for parents and carers, is full of expert advice and tips on supporting primary-age children, and managing their behavior at: https://parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk/

We all have mental health. Mental health is about our feelings, our thinking, our emotions and our moods. Looking after our mental health is important. We all have small feelings every day: These sometimes feel strong and overwhelming, whether happy or sad, but they go away before too long. Sometimes we experience big feelings: These feel strong and overwhelming for a long time. They stop us doing what we want to in our lives.

1) Make conversations about mental health a normal part of life: Anywhere is a good place to talk; in the car, walking the dog or cooking together. Model everyday talk about feelings such as by talking about a TV character’s feelings.

2) Give your full attention: We all know it’s horrible to be half listened to. Keep eye contact, focus on the child and ignore distractions

3) Check your body language: Try to keep it open and relaxed and make sure you come down to the child’s level.

4) Take it seriously: Don’t downplay what the child is saying or tell them they’re “just being silly”. Resist the urge to reassure them that everything is fine.

5) Ask open questions: Such as “How did your day go today?” This will help to extend the conversation

6) Calmly stay with the feelings that arise: It can be our automatic reaction to steer away from difficult emotions.

7) Offer empathy rather than solutions: Show that you accept what they are telling you but don’t try to solve the problem.

8) Remember we are all different: Respect and value the child’s feelings, even though they may be different to yours.

9) Look for clues about feelings: Listen to the child’s words, tone of voice and body language.

10) Some ways to start a conversation about feelings might be: “How are you feeling at the moment?” “You don’t seem your usual self. Do you want to talk about it?” “Do you fancy a chat?” “I’m happy to listen if you need a chat

Information sourced from : https://www.annafreud.org/media/7228/tmh-parent-leaflet-final-all-approved-laid-out-for-web.pdf

Did you know North Tyneside Council have PRE-PAID for every parent and carer in North Tyneside to access a range of courses for parents/carers (access now for life-long access)? There are courses for parents, carers and grandparents about children from bump to 19+ years, from the Solihull Approach (NHS).

Visit www.inourplace.co.uk and use the access code QUADRANT to sign up to any of the following courses:

Understanding your pregnancy, birth, labour and your baby

Understanding your baby

Understanding your child (0-19+ yrs, main course)

Understanding your child with additional needs (0-19+ yrs, main course)

Understanding your child’s feelings (taster course)

Understanding your child’s brain (short course)

‘Understanding your brain (for teenagers only!)’

Understanding your child’s mental health and wellbeing (accompanies UYC and UYCAD)

Mindful moment: 5 things you can see 4 things you can touch/feel 3 things you can hear 2 things you can taste 1 thing that you can smell

Moment’s of calm : Lie down on the floor, close your eyes and describe a happy time that you have experienced as a family.

Digital Detox : Challenge yourself to have a whole weekend day without any electronics

Wiggle and Dance: Put on your favourite songs or videos and have fun dancing around!

Obstacle Course: Make your own obstacle course with your child using things you have around the house

A-Z of feelings : Work together to think of 1 or 2 feelings for every letter of the alphabet

Worry Jar: A Worry Jar is a place for your child to put their worries to stop them thinking about them. Find a jar or any container - you could decorate it. If you can’t make a worry jar, then you can write or draw on the picture below. Help your child write their worries on pieces of paper. Fold them up and put them in the jar, close the jar. Plan 'Worry Time' if the child has written worries. Choose 10-15 minutes a day (but not right before bed). When worry time starts, they open the worry jar, look inside and worry as much as they want. They can read all the worries or focus on one or two. Have a timer to show that worry time is over. Close the jar to put their worries away. By using the worry jar your child will probably tell you that they’ve stopped worrying about something they had put in the jar. Enjoy these times together. Ask your child to rip up the worry.

Check out the following links to free resources and further information:

https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/families/

https://www.annafreud.org/parents-and-carers/resources/

https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources/parenting-smart-mental-health-advice-for-parents/

https://mindedforfamilies.org.uk/young-people/

Where do the Children Grow By Christy R. Dawson, c 2016.

When you see a smiling face,

Their happiness all over the place,

Singing, laughing, cries of glee,

Come, they say, play with me.

The slide, the swing, the monkey bars,

Look at them close to see who they are.

Lots of races, Ready, Set, Go.

This is how the children grow.

If you watch them every day,

You'll see they learn as they play.

They'll do what they see and say what they hear.

You're their teacher throughout the years.

Their ideas and thoughts in their eyes shine.

Imagination is a glimpse of their mind.

When you're not looking, don't you know

This is when the children grow.

Watch them as they learn to walk,

Listen to them when they talk.

Keep them safe, away from harm,

Wrap them gently within your arms.

Teach them to share and how to take turns.

Set good examples from which they will learn,

At home, at school, wherever they go.

This is where the children grow.