From the Deputy Principal

Interhouse Cross Country

We are very much looking forward to our whole school RUOK? Interhouse Cross Country on Wednesday 4 May.  We welcome parents to spectate at this event.  Further information can be found here 

Helping our children with big emotions

Over the holidays I enjoyed spending time with my family and also really enjoyed doing some extra reading and reflecting.  One of the things I came across was an article about helping our children deal with strong emotions, and the role we can play as parents to support them.  Being a parent of a teenager who has faced the ups and downs of the past year or so with Covid interruptions, cancellations and several major disappointments, along with the inevitable tears and frustrations, I read with interest.

The article reminded me that as parents, one of our greatest motivations is to protect our children from pain and suffering—in essence, from negative emotions. Nonetheless, despite our best efforts, our children will be disappointed, feel fear and pain, and have tremendous loss and grief. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  Experiencing emotions is at the heart of what it means to be alive, and emotions can provide us with information about ourselves and our environment. 

In young children, parents play a vital role in helping children manage their emotions. Children’s prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that controls emotions and functions is highly immature. As the parent, you have the privilege of supporting your child/ren until they are ready to take over the charge (which happens gradually over time, with the transition often not completing until late adolescence or early adulthood). Children’s main source of security—of emotional anchoring—are the people who care for them. When their parents are with them and are calm, all is right in the world. 

Sometimes our first reaction is to try to make things right for our children, to fight their battles for them or to take on their perceived foes.  But, it is important that, instead, we support our children to navigate the world themselves, with our support and guidance.  We can do this by helping them name and acknowledge their emotions and helping to validate those emotions, by being empathetic and by asking questions to help your child view the situation more positively.  By coaching them through the process of understanding, expressing, and regulating these feelings, we are creating an opportunity for them to live richer, more meaningful lives.  You may like to read more here 

Mrs Emma Franklin | Deputy Principal