Guidance for parents and carers
This is extensive guidance available for use by parents and carers delivering the Home Wellbeing Programme (that aligns with the school PSHE Curriculum (in case your child’s school is using this).
Please explore below and access the PDF supplementary documents to find out more about each topic, and lots of other supporting evidence and guidance to assist you.
What does the Home Wellbeing Programme involve?
Welcome:
A warm welcome to the Home Wellbeing Programme!
A warm welcome to the CORE MH Wellbeing Home Programme!
If you’re really interested in supporting your child(ren)’s mental health and wellbeing, you’re in the right place. Thanks for making this investment.
If you follow this programme consistently, it supports your child:
- emotionally,
- physically
- psychologically
- to thrive in school
- to thrive within relationships
It is also designed to create a connecting bond with you so they feel safe to share how they’re feeling, as well as the ability to support themselves too.
Why?
The letters in the word CORE stand for:
Child-centred, Collaborative
* Places child at the heart of their experience,
* Choice boosts engagement, empowerment and sense of control.
* Work together.
Creative & Play focused
* Play is essential for development
* Play allows interaction with the world naturally and authentically.
* Play helps children build resilience and manage stress effectively.
Compassion
* Enhances emotion regulation.
* Compassion-based interventions, like the mindfulness exercises within CORE MH, improve wellbeing and reduce symptoms of poor MH.
Openness
* Encourage children to express their thoughts and emotions without showing discomfort.
* Use clear and open language around mental health conditions and wellbeing topics.
* Openness, in discussing mental health, helps break down stigma and normalises these conversations
* Shows that all emotions are acceptable and valid (even anger); children can feel lonely with their feelings and almost as if they are the only one going through something.
Relationships
* Effective relationships are essential for children to feel safe and understood.
* Each child needs at least one trusted adult in their life for their mental health to be supported.
*If you get relationships right, then your child will feel psychologically safe with you (which is SO important!) for this programme to be impactful.
* Psychological safety refers to a child’s ability to feel safe enough to open up, share and learn.
Resilience
* Focus on building both self-resilience and the ability to seek support.
* Encourage activities that challenge them and help develop coping skills.
* Resilience is about returning from challenges & adversity.
Encouraging children to step out of their comfort zones and into their
* stretch zones occasionally is crucial, which CORE MH promotes; it helps them build resilience by experiencing low-level fear.
Environment
* Establish a comfortable and safe environment where your child can be truly and authentically themselves thus supporting their mental health.
* Having an awareness of behaviour as communication can aid a parent/carer to understand a child’s pain and frustrations, e.g. what are they trying to communicate to me in their behaviour? Manage your own emotional reactions effectively so you car avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Empathy
* Show empathy by trying to understand their frame of reference and context.
* Via advances in neuroscience, it has been found that if empathy is shown towards a child it calms their brain quieting their amygdala (the fear-centre of the brain)
* Tune into a child’s body language, facial expression and gestures. Nod, use relaxed eye contact and kind facial expressions.
Say things like:
“I can see how very difficult this is for you,”
“That sounds so hard…”
How should I deliver the CORE MH Home Wellbeing Programme?
This programme consistently supports your child:
- emotionally
- physically
- psychologically
- to thrive in school
- to thrive within relationships
It is also designed to create a connecting bond with you so they feel safe to share how they’re feeling, as well as the ability to support themselves too.
Each weekly session will last only about 30 minutes.
There is a session every week throughout the year…with a break over August.
🛠️ What’s included?
- Discussion on a wellbeing theme
- A video, voice note or image to start
- Task with clear instructions with e-resources and many practical wellbeing strategies!
Here are the SKILLS/approaches you will be invited to use in CORE MH…
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Noticing, reminding, providing space, teaching simple calming techniques are all encouraged in CORE MH. |
1) NOTICE:
“I’m wondering how your body and mind feels? Can you draw how you’re feeling?”
2) NORMALISE and VALIDATE:
“It’s normal to feel this way. I can see that this is hard for you”.
3) LABEL:
“I’m wondering if you are feeling disappointed?”
4) PROBLEM-SOLVE together:
“I wonder what I could do to help?” “Would this help, or not?”
“Has anything made you feel better in the past when you’ve felt like this?”
Why is this important?
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- In the moment, try to give your child your full attention and, to listen fully, you may need to set aside your own thoughts, agenda and preoccupations.
- Any sign of judgement will very quickly shut down the lines of communication between you. A child needs to feel validated and not criticised or condemned.
- One of the most precious gifts you can give a child is a fresh start each day.
- Avoid the impulse to overly reassure, fix, justify or offer them a solution; listening is all you need to do. This can be hard as feeling helpless can evoke painful and excruciating emotions of inadequacy.
- Asking ‘why’ a child is feeling something is often not helpful as it can come across as rather confrontational or can insinuate blame. In addition, your child may not be aware of why they are feeling how they are, and so putting pressure on them to find a reason might make them close off.
- They may also find it hard to put their feelings into words. I find that the question, ‘What’s happening for you?’ is a more open and softer way of asking about their feelings, and allows for them to say, ‘I don’t know’.
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Top Tip:
Remember that: All behaviour is communication.
Ask yourself: What is their behaviour trying to communicate?
When your child is over-stimulated or angry they will find it hard to listen and co-operate (their brain is ‘flipping it’s lid)’ so they won’t even be able to hear what you’re saying.
One quick way to help them to regulate these tricky feelings is to give them some CHOICE- this gives them a sense of autonomy and control.
Think of 2 options of something they can do next (both things that suit you 😊) and then give them the chance to make a choice by holding out your hands so they can touch the hand they wish to pick, For example, say:
“I can see that you are in a stuck place, would you like to play with your Lego and calm down (put one hand forward), or would you like to go for a walk with me (put other hand out)?
My aim has always been to create a comprehensive, adaptable programme that benefits every child.
It is backed by evidence-based, research-informed content so you can be confident that the techniques and strategies you deliver will get results.