Wellbeing

The Importance of Connection

From the moment they are born, children need safe, consistent and responsive connections with adults. Strong and stable connections allow children to develop a sense of trust and safety in the world around them. 

Feelings of safety, trust and support are the building blocks for all future wellbeing in a child’s development. Developing relationships through communication and sharing experiences support personal, social and emotional development, as well as early literacy skills. 

As a school, to foster positive connections with students we:

• Spend time building relationships with our students - A positive teacher student relationship plays an important role in student wellbeing and forms a foundation for effective teaching and learning.
• Support inclusion and belonging - Teachers promote acceptance, celebrate the diversity of students and their families, and develop students’ capacity to respect and include others. 
• Facilitate peer relationships - Peer relationships significantly contribute to student wellbeing. Teachers can foster positive relationships by promoting acceptance, empathy and respect in their classrooms.
• Be open, empathetic and approachable – The school community have an emphasis on showing genuine care and respect to all students by listening, considering different perspectives and understanding how different students think. 

At home, you can promote positive, trusting and respectful connections with your children by:

• Being available when your child needs support, care or help. Listen to what they have to say and understand that small problems to adults, are often huge problems to young children. 
• Stick to your promises as much as you can, so your child learns to trust what you say. For example, if you promise that you’ll go to a school activity, do everything you can to get there.
• Get to know your child and value them for who they are. If your child loves football, cheer on your child or ask about the best players. Showing respect for your child’s feelings and opinions encourages your child to keep sharing them with you.
• When your child expresses different opinions from yours, listen without judging or getting upset. This sends the message that you’ll listen and help your child with difficult issues in the future.
• Allow the relationship to evolve as your child develops, and your child’s needs and interests change. For example, your pre-teen child might no longer want you around at the park with their friends, even though your child used to love playing there with you.
• Set up some firm but fair family rules. Rules are clear statements about how your family wants to treat its members. They can help your child trust that you’ll treat them fairly and consistently.

Being in the moment with your child is about tuning in and thinking about what’s going on with them. It shows your child that you care about the things that matter to them, which is the basis for a strong relationship.

As always, I am available via Compass if you have any questions or would like to chat with me about anything wellbeing related. You can also email me at louise.jarvis@education.vic.gov.au.

Have a lovely weekend,

Louise Jarvis