These Mindful Moments were developed by Mrs. Primmer & Mrs. Billard-Penney to cover a wide range of topics during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We understand that this is a stressful time for families. Our routines have been broken, we miss our friends & teachers and outside recess is not nearly as fun when you are by yourself!
We thought we’d put together some tips and tricks to help our school community as we struggle to navigate this unprecedented time.
Limit talk of Covid-19 when children are present. Children are sponges and they are always listening (even when they are not in the room….some kind of super power perhaps!) While it is important to talk to your kids about Covid-19, stick to the facts and limit the information presented.
For example: “COVID-19 is a new kind of virus. It can also be called coronavirus. Viruses can make people sick. COVID-19 makes most people only a little bit sick, but can make a very small group of people really sick. So that’s why everyone is working hard to take care of it.”
2. Restrict your child’s access to media where possible. Children’s brains are not developed enough to filter out information presented through the media. Nightly news programs and live updates on the Corona Virus are scary for adults so imagine how terrifying they can be for children.
3. Try to keep some sense of routine and ‘normalcy’ where possible. Try to keep a regular bedtime routine, get dressed in ‘school’ clothes daily, brush those teeth, etcetera (It’s the small little routines that children miss the most, teachers too).
4. Be patient….we are all doing the best we can! Be patient with yourselves! You do not have to provide 6 hours of schoolwork per child per day! Spoiler alert: School is not all work, we like to have fun too!!!
5. Remind yourself and your kids that this will NOT last forever. We will get back to school and our regular busy lives.
Remember that we are all in this together.
CDC-Talking with Children about Covid-19
Everyone has anxiety or, at the very least, some level of anxiousness. Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress or danger such as visiting the dentist or writing a test. When experiencing stress or danger, anxiety triggers our body’s natural ‘fight, flight or freeze’ reflex. In fact, it can help keep us safe when there is danger.
For example, if we saw a tyrannosaurus rex walking down the street in Port Blandford, anxiety would tell us to RUN!!! Therefore, keeping us safe…phew!
However, extreme intense feelings of anxiety most or all the time is not healthy. This can lead to an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are debilitating and can cause you to struggle to function in day to day living. While it is normal to worry about a test, it is not normal or healthy to worry about a test for weeks before the test and continue to worry when it is over.
In this time of uncertainty, all of us are experiencing increased anxiety. Most of us who manage our anxiety well may be struggling to balance all the new worries we are feeling. Kids too.
Remember…
1. Kids will pick up on your anxiety. If you are nervous, kids with their ‘spidey sense’ will pick up on it and will internalize that anxiety.
2. You may notice personality changes in your children. This is normal in times of extreme stress. Your children will get back to their usual self with time. Be patient with them and yourselves.
3. Remind yourself and your kids that this will NOT last forever. We will get back to school and our regular busy lives. It will just take some time.
4. Validate your child’s feelings. “I know you are scared and that’s ok. We are in this together and we will be ok”.
5. Don’t underestimate the power of fresh air. Get outside everyday, even if the weather isn’t great. We say there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear!
When anxiety overtakes our body and mind, there are several strategies that can be used to help overcome these feelings. While there are many different techniques, here are several listed below for you to try!
4-7-8 Breathing Exercise
Step 1: Breathe in for 4 seconds
Step 2: Hold your breath for 7 seconds
Step 3: Breathe out for 8 seconds
Click the link below to watch a video showing this technique:
2. Peaceful Place Meditation
People often jokingly say “go to your happy place” when someone is angry or upset, but all jokes aside, this really is a great strategy to use to calm feelings of anxiety. Please click the link below for a “Guided Peaceful Meditation”.
Sometimes we underestimate the power of breathing. You may have noticed that children are not always articulate when explaining their feelings…am I right? At school, we often work with children on deep breathing. When upset, nervous, angry, excited…we ask them to take a few deep breaths to reset their regulators.
Slow deep breathing has a physical effect on your body to help you calm down and lower stress. So deep breathing does make a big difference for kids.
While everyone knows how to breath most children do not know how to take deep breaths properly.
1. Have child lie on back with a teddy bear on belly. When they breath in through their nose, their teddy bear should raise…hold that breath for 4 seconds with the teddy bear in their air and release the breath SLOWLY watching the teddy bear lower.
2. Have child put their hands on their belly. Pretend to hold a bubble wand. Take a big deep breath in and feel their belly rise, then blow out their breath (count to 4) while trying to blow the biggest bubble EVER!
3. Get a feather and have child blow the feather, trying to keep it in the air for as long as possible with each breath.
4. Cosmic Kids has some great breathing practice. Check out the link below….
As adults, we often realize that feeling stressed or anxious can affect how well we sleep. This is no different for children. However, because of their age they may be unable to label or express these feelings. Very often, these feelings can present themselves as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. If your child is struggling with sleep during this unsettling time, here are some helpful strategies to try with them.
Create a structured bedtime routine
A healthy bedtime routine allows your child’s body and mind time to slow down before lights out. Take at least half an hour to play quiet music, give your child a bath, or just have some snuggle time. A time to just relax and share favorite stories about your little one.
Read a Story
Time flies when you’re having fun! Reading can be a great distraction and can help take your child’s mind off any worries they may be having before bedtime. Consider reading to them first and then, if they are able to, have them read to you.
Exercise daily
Make sure that your child is getting exercise every day. Maybe it's just a walk around the block of a game of tag in your backyard. Exercise has been shown to help with sleep, just not too close to bedtime!
Limit screen time
Phones, tablets, and TVs emit light that keeps your brain awake, so try to limit them an hour before bedtime. In fact, screen time can increase levels of anxiety in children, making it more difficult to fall asleep. Consider setting a cut off time for screens an hour or more before bedtime to help your child’s brain settle down for the night. Instead, consider listening to music or reading a book to help quiet their mind.
Breathe Deeply
Try a deep breathing activity. For example: the 4-7-8 breathing exercise.
Tense and Relax
Try this relaxation exercise in bed: Get your child to squeeze their toes for several seconds, and then relax them. Then do the same thing with their lower legs, and on up their body, including arms, hands, stomach and even facial muscles. Listening to some soothing music can help with this relaxation process..
By now most people are getting tired of this. Tired of being home, tired of trying to work from home while entertaining children, tired of making 6 meals and 17 snacks a day. I mean what is with the snacking, right? Kids sure love to eat.
Us at Riverside are getting tired too and we long for the sound of the school bell. Some of you may be looking to get more familiarity into your child’s day or may be looking to set up a schedule.
Setting a schedule for your children does not have to be difficult or rigid. We’ve compiled a couple of quick points to help you out.
1. Try to set a difference between weekday and weekend. Try to get children out of bed and dressed by 9am on weekdays (if possible) and then allow a sleep in on the weekend. Some children are early risers, so waking up early is not an issue, which is great. Now we just have to get them out of their pjs. Remember: Pajama day at school only happens once or twice a year.
2. Silent reading or reading time. This should be in the morning and try to aim for 15 or 20 minutes on weekdays. Remember: Children can read books, magazines, instructions, recipes, etcetera. Set a timer and if space allows, have a reading spot with a comfortable chair or pillows.
3. Try to eat meals at ‘usual’ times, if possible. Most children crave routine and their bellies crave food. Keeping meal times on schedule will help avoid some of those pre-meal breakdowns.
4. Schedule outside play time. Try as much as possible to get children outside daily. We recognize the weather is not always ‘nice’ but put on a hat and mitts and go! There is no bad weather, just bad gear.
5. Bedtime. As stated previously, from Monday to Friday try to keep a scheduled bedtime. Then on the weekends, allow for a little extra time up.
6. Most importantly remember that it’s okay if the kids didn’t keep a schedule today or if they ate too much sugar, stayed up too late, watched too much tv, etcetera. We are all trying our best, so just breath and give yourself a break.
As teachers in the school system, we recognize that a greater number of students entering school struggle with controlling their emotions and behaviors, as well as dealing with their emotions in a healthy and productive way. We refer to this as emotional self-regulation.
How well your child is able to control or regulate their emotions and behaviors will affect their school experiences. For example, the better they are able to control their emotions and behaviors, the more likely they will have more positive school experiences, such as making friends, completing school activities, and receiving praise and attention for their good choices.
Tips to develop emotional regulation in children:
Develop Emotional Literacy in your child.
Developing emotional literacy in your child means that you teach your child how to label and identify their feelings. Often children find it very difficult to express how they are feeling and this can result in greater levels of frustration and more extreme behaviors.
One great way to do this is by reading stories to your children. During your reading, talk to your child about how a character in the story may be feeling. Why would they feel that way? What clues in the story help identify how they may be feeling? Ask what can the character do to solve the problem in the story?
Model positive emotional self regulation skills for your child.
Your child learns best from watching you, rather than listening to you. And as we all know, our kids are ALWAYS watching us!
As adults, we need to be aware of how we respond to situations. For example, when your child has a meltdown, you may feel angry or even amused, but instead of yelling or laughing, you regulate your emotions in order to talk to your child calmly about how they could react instead.
Help your child identify triggers.
Discovering situations or events that upset our children is essential in helping them learn how to respond in an appropriate and acceptable way.
If you’re not sure where to start when finding situations that are challenging for your child, start by noticing when and where they demonstrate challenging behaviors such as whining, defiance or emotional meltdowns. Talk to your child about these behaviors in a calm manner, using words that simply describe the feelings and the behavior you see. For example: “I can see that you get really frustrated when your brother ignores you”.
Explore coping strategies together.
After your child has developed the vocabulary to label their emotions and are able to identify triggers, we need to help them find healthy and productive ways to cope with their intense emotions. This can be tricky! So expect a LOT of trial and error, and also expect changes in what works over time. For instance, a strategy that works now, may not work in 6 months time, and a strategy that doesn’t work now, may very well work in 6 months!
A few questions to get you thinking about what soothes your child: Is there a particular space your child finds calming? Where do they run when upset or frustrated? Do they seem to calm with physical touch or appear to avoid it? Do they prefer to be around others or respond better to quiet solitude? Can a walk help them calm down? Are there certain sounds or music which can help them relax?
Breathing practice and mindfulness.
In order for your child to seek out a state of calm, they need to know how it feels to be calm. Teaching your child the effects of slow, steady breaths and how this soothes and calms their bodies is key to your child being able to emotionally regulate themselves.
Be supportive and encouraging.
Help your child feel cared about, valued, and understood as they learn to regulate. Show genuine interest and engage with them as a coach and mentor. Let them know it’s ok to make mistakes and that practice makes it easier!