1. Stick to a daily routine, including school work, keeping things as “same” and as “normal” as possible. As the school puts in amazing efforts for our children and families, we all need to remind ourselves that being fully present in the here-and-now of familiar patterns of everyday life, is the best way forward. Eat well, sleep well, exercise, spend time with loved ones, online if necessary, practice self-care!

2. Be mindful of screen time, including TV and news exposure. It is best to limit media access, including social media, where misguided, misleading and even incorrect information can be shared, catastrophizing the events. It is best to adhere to clear and concise facts, shared via official government and school channels.

3. Talking and listening to our children is particularly important, and as we take the time to ask about their thoughts and feelings, we not only offer an outlet for their worries, but also help identify potential sources of misinformation and address them. Knowing that children can ask us about what’s happening, means that they will be less likely to go looking for answers online, where facts can be distorted.

4. Remember the Growth Mindset and how we can apply our “problem-solving” strategies to help kids think of practical ways to stay healthy, such as washing their hands or using tissues to cough and sneeze. It is also a good opportunity to remind children that school closure is a measure of precaution and it is temporary.

5. Take care of yourself. We cannot offer calm if we ourselves do not feel calm. Take the time to address your own feelings of stress or worry. As adults, we can pass on our anxiety to our children, so it is important to be mindful of our own feelings and how we are managing them. Find fun things to do together, with school sending daily activities and lots of ideas available online, try to focus on what you can do, instead of what you cannot. Remember how lucky we all are to be as safe as we are!

Maintaining wellbeing during school closure

Practical Tips for Parents during school closure: vimeo.com/402150352

Talking to your child about coronavirus

Collection of Daily Wellbeing Tips

Self-Care Strategies

How to Avoid Passing on Your Anxiety

Talking to Children About Distressing Events

Boosting your child's mental wellbeing

How to talk about scary world news

https://childmind.org/article/talking-to-kids-about-the-coronavirus/Mindfulness and the Brain

https://centerforparentingeducation.org/library-of-articles/healthy-communication/when-disaster-strikes-talking-to-children-about-traumatic-events/

https://parenting.nytimes.com/culture/kids-current-events?module=topic-page-archive&action=click&rank=5&position=4

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/magic-of-the-metaphor/

Stuart Shanker's self-reg framework provides us with insights about behaviour based on decades of research. Rather than aiming to manage behaviour, through the self-regulation lens we come to better understand stress, and to manage tension and energy flow in order to support mindful self-regulation.

Stuart Shanker has identified 5 domains of stress and how they impact on behaviour. The domains include biological, emotional, cognitive, social and pro-social.

Mastering the art of self-regulation helps children learn to deal with challenging experiences, overcome frustration, pay better attention, engage more positively with others and to be better learners. Self- regulation helps children to develop the confidence, along with the skills and emotional strength, to navigate the challenges that they encounter.

Self-regulation in the Early Years