Wellbeing - Parents

My child needs support! How can I refer them?

Seeking help is a sign of strength and not a weakness. If you ever have concerns about your child’s mental health or wellbeing, please do not hesitate to reach out to the year coordinators or contact any of the wellbeing staff directly. Students are also able to drop-in and speak with wellbeing of their own accord if they would like to seek support.

Mental health support can also be accessed externally. You would first need to access a GP to request for a mental health care plan, which your child can then utilise to access subsidised external support through an external provider. Again, if you require any support in navigating this, please feel free to reach out to one of us and we will endeavour to work with you to access the best support in the most comfortable way for your child.

Take time to care for yourself… and ask for help

Parenting is rewarding, but it can also be exhausting. Between work, school, appointments, activities, household responsibilities and everything else that comes with family life, looking after yourself can very quickly fall to the bottom of the list.

Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to mean finding hours of spare time or making major changes. Often, it is the smaller things that make the biggest difference.

Ask for help when you need it

Parenting was never meant to be done entirely on your own. Asking your partner or a family member to take over for an evening, accepting an offer of help from family or friends, or simply telling someone that things are feeling a bit much can make a difference.

Accepting support also models something important for our young people; we don’t have to manage everything on our own, and asking for help is a normal and healthy thing to do.

Find joy in the small things

It is easy to get caught up waiting for the weekend, the holiday or the next big event. Try to notice some of the smaller moments along the way like sharing a laugh, having a coffee in peace, going for a walk, listening to music or sitting down with a good book.

These things might seem small, but they can give us an opportunity to slow down and reset during a busy week.

It's okay to say no

Parents are often juggling a lot, and it can be tempting to say yes to another commitment, another social event, another lift somewhere or another job that needs doing. Sometimes looking after yourself means recognising when your plate is already full. It is okay to say no, delegate something or decide that something can wait.

Setting reasonable boundaries also gives your child an important example of how to manage their own time, energy and wellbeing.

Get outside

When things are feeling particularly busy or overwhelming, getting outside can be one of the simplest ways to take a break. Go for a walk, spend some time in the garden, take the dog out or simply sit outside for a little while. It doesn't need to be exercise or another task to tick off the list. Sometimes a change of environment and some fresh air is enough.

Cut Yourself Some Slack

There is no such thing as perfect parenting. There will be days when you are patient and organised, and there will be days when dinner is late, someone has forgotten something important and everyone is a little tired and grumpy. That's normal!

We regularly encourage our young people to learn from mistakes, try again and not expect perfection from themselves. As adults, we sometimes need to extend the same kindness to ourselves. 

Connect with other parents

Parenting can sometimes feel surprisingly isolating, particularly as children get older and we spend less time standing at the school gate.

Sharing is caring! Talking with other parents can be a useful reminder that many families are navigating similar challenges. Sharing experiences, having a laugh about the difficult moments and hearing how someone else has approached a problem can help put things into perspective.

Prioritise sleep where you can

Sleep is often one of the first things sacrificed when life gets busy, but it plays an important role in our mood, patience, concentration and ability to manage stress.

We spend a lot of time encouraging teenagers to develop healthy sleep habits, so this is another area where modelling can be powerful. Sometimes the best thing we can do for tomorrow is simply go to bed.

Let your kids see you look after yourself

Our children learn a great deal from what they see us do.

Let them see you take a break when you need one. Let them hear you say, “I've had a day, I need some quiet time.” Let them see you go for a walk, talk to a friend, ask someone for help or say no when you have taken on enough.

These small moments help teach young people that looking after their wellbeing is a normal part of life, not just something we only think about once things have become overwhelming or disaster strikes. 

Parenting can involve a constant balancing act between what our children need, what our families need and everything else life asks of us. In amongst all of that, it can be very easy to forget that parents need looking after too.

Taking care of yourself isn't about getting everything right or adding another item to your to-do list. It is about recognising what you need to keep going and giving yourself permission to respond to it.

So, take the break when you need it. Ask for help. Say no occasionally. Enjoy the small things. And on the particularly difficult days, remember that tomorrow is another day.

Parent Support Services

We understand that supporting a young person with mental health concerns can be hard. If you are thinking of engaging in some extra support for yourself, or are interested in some information to help with concerns as they arise, please take a look at the document attached which you can use to talk things through. You don’t have to do it on your own!

Lauren, Steph, Livia, Jamie, and Jess

The Wellbeing Team