Health and Wellbeing

Maintaining Mental Well-being

On behalf of the Wellbeing Team we hope that you and your families are safe and well. This is such a challenging time in a number of ways, whether it be the new challenge of tackling remote learning, missing seeing friends and loved ones or spending most of our days inside our homes.

There will be a range of feelings that both young people and us as adults will be experiencing throughout this unprecedented time. Sadness, panic, boredom, anger, as well as possibly enjoying some of the perks of waking up later and spending the day working in casual clothes! All of these feelings, and these feelings changing from moment to moment, is really normal.

Each week I’ll be promoting a website, app or clip that I think could be useful for families to access to help with balancing mood, focusing on the positives and talking about good things as a family.

This week is the Headspace Mindfulness App:

https://www.headspace.com/headspace-meditation-app

This is a free mindfulness app for young children, teenagers and adults. It offers a full range of meditations including relaxation, guided meditations, specific topics and help with getting to sleep.

This app is an incredibly helpful way to ease anxiety and stress surrounding being in close proximity with family members, worries about the world around us, or adjusting to our new lifestyle. I hope you enjoy it!

If you have any concerns about your son/daughter and would like support from Wellbeing throughout this remote learning period, please don’t hesitate to email us on:

Katrina Katz – Leader of Student Wellbeing - kat@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au

Guiseppe Relia – Social Worker - grl@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au

Sanela Avdic – Social Worker – sav@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au

Take care and stay safe,

Katrina Katz

Leader of Student Wellbeing

Family Dinner Project

This Family Dinner Project website provides tips and recipes to encourage the connection of a family meal. It also has different conversations each week:

https://thefamilydinnerproject.org/

Tips for Managing Screen time during Remote Learning

If parents are struggling to keep their kids off screens, this website has some good tips. Not rocket science but useful:

Tips for healthy technology use for your teen:

Try to agree on some reasonable limits for technology use according to your teenager’s age – such as times of the day that will be technology free.
Encourage your teen to take regular breaks from the screen.
Find activities your teenager enjoys doing that are not screen based, and encourage them to do them regularly— visit friends and family, play a sport or join the crowd to watch a game, go for a walk, play music or cook. When they’re having fun, screen time will suddenly become a lot less attractive.
Try to keep technology out of your teen’s bedroom and, where possible, make sure phones, TVs and computers are kept where you can keep an eye on their use.
Encourage your teenager to turn off all screens about an hour before they go to sleep. Research shows that using these items too close to bedtime makes it harder to fall asleep.
If your teen wears glasses, check with their optometrist about suitability for screen use.
Let your teenager know that they shouldn’t hold their screens too close to their eyes, especially for long periods of time.
Help your teen to set up their computer workspace properly, including a chair that encourages good posture.
Set a good example. Your teen is more likely to take time off from their own screens if they see you doing the same.

For tips and advice on helping your child have safe and enjoyable experiences online, visit the eSafety website.

From <https://www.learningpotential.gov.au/articles/healthy-teen-tech>

Kathleen Timms

Leader of Transition and Catalyst Programs