Kinross Wolaroi Family Bulletin

Counselling & Psychological Services

Bec Campey and Amy Newsom

Preparing for the Holidays

As we approach the final couple of weeks of Term 4 and the school year, it is time to start preparing your child for their summer break. Here are our top tips for the holidays, along with some helpful resources:

  1. Transitions – Help your child to get ready for important transitions by getting organised early, inviting older siblings or family friends to share helpful tips, practising ‘what if…?’ scenarios (e.g. who to go to for help) and establishing routines ahead of time (esp. sleep routines). 
    transition from primary to secondary school - supporting your young person (headspace.org.au)
  2. Social Skills – Reinforce helpful social skills (e.g. conflict resolution, showing empathy for others, reciprocal relationships), talk out situations that may have been tricky for your child at school this term and how they could go about things differently next year. The COVID lockdowns have made social skills especially difficult for young people this year, so it is important to keep talking about these skills over the break. 
    Friendships and teenagers - ReachOut Parents
  3. Perspective – Time away from school, engagement with family and friends and mixing with people of different ages provides the opportunity for children to ‘zoom out’ and look beyond their usual daily lives. Encourage your young people to do things for others and discover interests outside their usual school subjects.
  4. Balance – It is important to use the school holidays to balance a range of activities, including:
  5. Help Seeking – Taking a break from school doesn’t mean that young people can take a break from their thoughts and feelings, so there may be times over the next couple of months when they need to reach out for support.