Mental Health in Primary Schools

Last week, Nick, Bec, and I attended our first professional learning session about mental health in primary schools.  We were joined by about 50 other schools from the Education Department, Catholic and Independent Schools from the Outer East of Melbourne. Throughout the day we were lucky enough to engage with the other schools in discussions about Wellbeing and Mental health supports that already exist in our current school structures.  Here at St Joseph's, we have amazing building blocks for wellbeing and building positive mental health with the programs and teaching already in place, and we are excited to see how we can strengthen our supports, current programs and connections with the community in regard to mental Health.  The program and learning will continue for the next 3 years as we roll out our learning and support for our families and students.

One of the resources we explored was the Raising Children resource which is an online resource which supports parents and families with information about how to best support their children.

One area that is particularly interesting is the section on the importance of Emotions.

Some of the information has been added below, and you can find the website here:

Emotions and how they affect mental health

Understanding and managing emotions is important for development and well-being during childhood and adolescence.

Children and teenagers who can understand and manage their emotions are more likely to:

• express emotions by speaking calmly or in other appropriate ways
• bounce back after feeling strong emotions like disappointment, frustration or excitement
• control impulses
• behave positively – that is, in ways that help with getting along with others, staying safe and developing well.

And this is good for children because it helps them learn, make friends, become independent and more.

Your child’s ability to understand and manage emotions develops over time. When your child is young, they’ll need help with understanding emotions. This mostly involves recognising and naming emotions, which lays the groundwork for managing emotions as your child gets older.

As your child grows, they’ll learn more strategies to manage their emotions without your help.

Understanding and managing emotions is also called emotional regulation. It’s an important part of your child’s self-regulation.

Helping children calm down: 5 steps

Here are 5 steps you can take to help your child calm down from a strong emotion:

1. Notice and identify the emotion.
2. Name and connect the emotion to the event.
3. Pause and say nothing.
4. Support your child while they calm down.
5. Address the issue.

1. Notice and identify the emotion

If your child looks like they need help to calm down, stop. Pay attention to what your child’s behaviour is telling you about their feelings before you do or say anything else. You can do this by:

• looking closely at your child
• watching their body language
• listening to what your child is saying.

For example, if you ask your child to turn off the TV and have a shower, your child might ignore you, or roll around on the floor and complain loudly. This gives you a clue that your child is feeling angry.

It can take practice to learn to identify your child’s emotions.

2. Name and connect the emotion to the event

The second step is to label the emotion and connect it with the event. This helps your child learn to understand:

• what they’re feeling and why
• how their body reacts to this feeling
• what words go with the feeling.

It also shows your child that you understand how they feel and that this emotion is OK, even if their behaviour isn’t OK.

For example, if your child is rolling around on the floor and complaining loudly about turning off the TV, you could say, ‘I can see that you’re feeling angry about turning off the TV’.

3. Pause and say nothing

Pausing and saying nothing for a few seconds gives your child time to take in what you’ve just said. It’s hard not to jump in and start talking. You might find it helps to count slowly to 5 in your head while you wait.

This pause might be enough for your child to calm down and move on to something else. Or they might solve the problem for themselves. For example, ‘Could I watch more TV after I’ve had my shower?’

4. Support your child while they calm down

If your child is very upset, they might take more time to get their emotions under control. For example, they might keep shouting or acting out physically, or they might have a tantrum.

Here are things to try if your child needs longer to calm down:

• Make sure that they’re safe and you’re safe.
• Stay calm and close to your child. This shows that you understand and can handle their emotions. It also helps them understand that emotions don’t have to be overwhelming.
• Go back to step 1. For example, ‘I can see you’re furious about this’.
• Get someone to help you if you need it – for example, your partner if you have one.
• Wait for the strong emotion to pass. Be patient. It can be very hard for young children to manage strong feelings.

It’s tempting to say things like ‘Use your words’ or ‘Try taking some deep breaths’. But your child might not be able to respond to these suggestions until their emotions have passed. It’s often best just to wait.

While your child is calming down, it’s OK to move slightly away from your child, but it’s important to stay close enough to watch them and know they’re safe.