Wellbeing for Parents

There are lots of resources available to help you to support your own, as well as your child's, mental health and wellbeing. Many of the websites and resources in this section have simple ideas to help you and also to equip you to offer support or start a conversation with your child about how they are feeling.

 

What can I do to help myself?

Remember that the small things really can make a big difference to how we are feeling. Try some of these 'top tips' to help with your mental health and wellbeing; 

1. Talk to someone - talk to friend or family member. Ask them how they are feeling or tell them about your day. Try staying in contact with friends and family who live far away by making a call, texting a message or setting up a zoom meeting.
2. Try a new hobby or do something you really enjoy – try baking, reading a good book or dancing to your favourite music.
3. Be physically active – go for a walk or do a form of exercise that you particularly enjoy. There are plenty of exciting online activities and exercises, such as cardio activities and yoga, that you can do at home. Follow the links below to get some ideas:
   NHS Fitness Studio
   PopSugar Fitness
   Fitness Blender
   Yoga with Adriene
4. Take a moment, breathe and maybe even practice some mindfulness – there are lots of simple resources to help with breathing exercises and meditation (see links further down this page). Also check out the ‘Calm’ there are some really good, free resources and meditations available on this website/app. https://www.calm.com/

 

What can I do to help my child?

Simply taking the time to ask; ‘How are you?’ and to have a conversation can give your child just the opportunity they need to open up and discuss their feelings. Remember, it can be the smallest things that make the biggest difference when thinking about how to be there for others.

1. Take the time to talk to them - as we mentioned above, talking to someone can be really powerful, not just for your own wellbeing but for others too.
2. Ask them how they are feeling - ask ‘How are you feeling?' and remember - it doesn't hurt to ask twice - 'How are you really?' or ‘Are you sure you’re ok?’
3. Take the time to listen - you don't need to have all the answers or be able to solve the problem straight away. Sometimes, just the act of listening can really help someone else and reminds them that they're not alone.

 

You don't need to be an expert - just being there for someone else is enough. Follow these top tips to help:

• Active listening – take the time to listen carefully
• Keep it simple- small acts of kindness can make the biggest difference to someone
• Take care of you - it is important to make sure that you look after yourself as it is only when you take good care of yourself that you can best look after others.

 

 

Websites which have lots of information to support you in supporting your child

 

Young Minds

 

MindMate

 

Lucy's Blue Day

A great resource to support your child in understanding the range of emotions that someone might feel and the fact that feeling such emotions is OK - it's OK not to be OK.