Deputy Principal, Wellbeing 

Although I am away at Youth Mental Health First Aid Facilitator training this week, it is pleasing to hear that our young people are settling back in to the routine of school after our most recent lockdown. For some students, change and disruption is something that is dealt with pragmatically and without too much fuss. For others, change and loss of control over our daily situations and routines can be very unsettling and anxiety inducing. 

It is common for children and adolescents to have difficulty in expressing what they are feeling to parents, and often these big emotions can be held on to all day at school. When your child then returns home, these feelings are unleashed onto parents and other family members. It can be unsettling to see children angry and upset, although these are healthy and normal emotions and reactions.

 Knowing how to help a child when they are in this state can be hard, the visual below offers excellent guidance on prompts and scripts that can be used with children and young people to help them when they are angry.  Remember, anger at loved ones is generally expressed because the young person feels it is a safe environment to be vulnerable. Normalising anger and reassuring with support is vital to help the young person. 

Kate Couchman

School Counsellor