Below are a range of links which have been created by CAHMS to support children and parents/carers.
coronavirus guide for families
Family guide about Coronavirus
Self-Care-Kit-COVID-19 The Little book of Mindfulness
Training Opportunity
I am pleased to inform you that Bounce Forward Raising Resilience – Free Parents Online Course has now been set up for ALL PARENTS in Oldham. See attached flyer
https://bounceforward.com/bounce-forward-raising-resilience-oldham-open/
There are three different courses with the first starting on Monday 20th April. You can book on the course directly with Bounce Forward
The aim of the course is to ease some of the strain caused by families staying home. The sessions will provide tools and resources for parents and children to build resilience and use the current situation as a learning opportunity that will help right now and into the future. The sessions will be useful for all parents who want to learn resilience skills. The downloadable worksheets are designed for children aged nine and above.
Bounce Forward Raising Resilience
Course Overview
Session 1: Optimism during uncertainty
This session explores the link between what we think, how we feel, and how we behave. Flexible and realistic thinking lies at the heart of resilience: it enables us to do the ‘right’ thing at the right time, so we achieve the best possible outcome.
Session 2: Developing the mental muscle
Helping children gain more control over how they feel and behave. Reframing unhelpful choices, and developing empathy for self and others so they can navigate uncertainty and learn to fail well.
Session 3: Compassionate communication
Effective communication is essential as our children move into adolescence. We can find ourselves in cycles of nagging and bickering and focusing on the ‘big’ conversations, and with it, we become disconnected. Resilience and compassion are the keys to staying connected.
Session 4: Mindsets and Energy
Nurturing and developing a growth mindset in our children. Understanding the psychological link between energy, emotions and behaviour.
Session 5: Parenting to strengths
Identifying the unique strengths of children and ourselves – and how to use them to best effect.
What Parents Say About This Course
“There’s a wealth of knowledge and I find it so valuable that you are offering this service at this difficult time. I am inspired by how passionate you are about your work.”
“I absolutely loved this morning and have kept hearing ‘doing or being’ in my head all day! Signed up for the test already and can’t wait.”
“So useful to have tangible, written down, step by step guidelines to follow!”
“Thanks so much – I really enjoyed that session and have signed up for the rest. This is definitely a great positive to come out of a negative situation! Thanks for offering this first one for free and the rest at such a low cost. I’m sure you’ll be helping many parents.”
100% of parents rate the usefulness of this course 10/10
* * * * *
These are challenging times. With everyone being instructed to stay at home during the COVID-19 crisis, this can be a particularly stressful time for young children, their parents and carers. With that in mind, we want to help make your time at home as creative, rewarding and stress-free as possible.
Oldham Wellbeing Team are creating a weekly document to support different elements of Emotional Health & Wellbeing.
·Week 1 Maintaining a healthy lifestyle (nutrition/sleep/physical exercise/routines etc)
·Week 2 Behaviour as a communication and the link to mental health (see link above)
· Week 3 Emotional Wellbeing (Parents, Staff & Children)
·Week 4 Achievement/Challenge (including growth mindset)
·Week 5 Positive Relations (maintaining connections, transitions)
·Week 6 Practicing Kindness/Gratitude
Below is Week 1, which has some fantastic resources and tips to support maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle during these uncertain times.
Week 2 – Challenging Behaviour
During this difficult time, we understand that some children are struggling to manage their feeling and emotions, which can result in challenging behaviour.
Parents – Thinking about Challenging Behaviour
“This word is the reason that you’re not going to school. It is the reason you can’t go outside very often or visit your friends … But what is it and why is everyone talking about it?”
“The word is coronavirus.”
Please click the link below to read a short Social Story to share with your children to help them understand what’s happening with the Coronavirus and why we’re all doing some pretty unusual things at the moment!
Iain S Thomas has also made this excellent story free for everyone to read. It explains what’s going on and also has some excellent ideas for everyone to try. Please click on the link below to read the story.
Find a larger copy of the Coping Calendar Coping Calendar. It’s full of practical ideas to deal with the anxiety brought on by isolation.
Below are some Mindfulness website links. Hopefully, you can use these to help your children and loved ones a little more calm and relaxed.
Big Life Kids Mindfulness – https://biglifejournal-uk.co.uk/pages/podcast
Calming Activities – https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/SEL-Home-Learning-Packet-supports-Social-Emotional-Learning-5326481
Headspace – https://www.headspace.com/covid-19