Welbeing News

The holiday break offers a welcome opportunity to step back, unwind and rest up for a busy term ahead. Unfortunately, students will often fall into bad habits or undo some of the positive gains made in Term One due to a lack of consistency and routine. It is easy to stay up late, sleep in on mornings, spend too much time on screens and devices and occasionally make some poor choices in how to use holiday freedom.

Losing the positive social connections, daily routines and learning habits of normal school days can lead to a backward step as poor habits can be hard to break when the new term starts. For Year 12 students who continue to prepare for their HSC, staying focused and maintaining healthy lifestyle choices could be the key to success.

There are a number of ways you can support your young person’s mental health and wellbeing in these school holidays:

Stay connected

Social relationships are important to any young person’s general wellbeing. Having a variety of friendship groups both in and out of school will provide a diverse social support network essential for developing appropriate relationships. Encourage your young person to keep in contact with friends, family, and community activities over the holidays. Be aware if your young person is isolating themselves or does not feel up to going out. While social media is great for connecting to a wide range of people it should not take the place of face-to-face communications.

Stay in a routine

Getting a good night’s sleep not only helps young people to feel energised, focused, and motivated but is also essential for neurological growth and development. Adolescence is a time when a number of changes to the “body clock” impact sleeping patterns and young people are more likely to feel tired later than their parents and sleep in later as a result. Developing a sleeping routine can help. Encourage your young person to have a regular bedtime and to wake up at about the same time each morning. Encourage young people to get up when they wake, not lie in, or go back to sleep.

Staying up late in the holidays and sleeping in the following day will make it that much harder to snap out of this routine when classes resume for Term 2. Avoiding caffeine after lunchtime, having a quiet, dark and uncluttered bedroom and shutting down electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bed can also help them to get a good night’s sleep. It is a good idea to make bedrooms phone/device-free spaces so there is no temptation to check phones/messages in the middle of the night.

Stay physically active

Physical activity elevates heart rate, oxygenates the brain and increases the release of endorphins which have positive effects on health and wellbeing both in the short and long term. Often young people fall out of the routine of exercising regularly without the structures of school sports and training. Even small activities, like walking the dog, can help relieve stress and frustration, provide a good distraction from worrying thoughts, improve concentration and improve mood. Exercising as a family will not only benefit your health but also creates a fantastic way to reconnect and strengthen the bond between parents and their young people. Make time to do fun things together with your young person. You may be surprised by what your young people will discuss or disclose when they are relaxed, energized and having fun.

Eat well

A healthy well-balanced diet doesn’t only reduce the risk of physical health problems, like heart disease and diabetes, but it can also help with sleeping patterns, energy levels, mood, and general health and wellbeing. Good dietary choices include avoiding junk foods which are often high in fat, salt and sugar and opting for a well-balanced diet with fresh veggies, fruit, lean proteins, whole grains, and plenty of water will ensure your young person has all the nutrients to fuel those growing bodies.

For more information see:

Talk a little, but talk often

Try to avoid setting up unnatural “we need to talk” talks. Often doing something together, taking a drive or a walk or having device-free times such as in the car or at mealtimes will lead to more natural conversations. Keep calm and non-judgmental, use open-ended questions and don’t feel as though you need to “fix” the problem. A big part of adolescent development is helping our young people to build their own problem-solving strategies and resources for managing challenging situations. Often being heard is enough. You want your young person to know that no matter what it is that is on their mind, you are always there to listen.

Minimise risk

Nothing turns young people off more quickly than “helicopter parenting” or spying, being nosy, overly protective or suspicious. Adolescents is a time when each individual will form their own identity and strive for independence on their journey towards adulthood. Unfortunately for boys, the prefrontal cortex in the male brain which controls emotional regulation, planning and decision making doesn’t fully mature until around age 25. This can often lead to boys doing some really silly things, where the answer to the age-old question “Didn’t you think?” can quite honestly and genuinely be “No!”

This doesn’t mean we don’t have to worry so much about our girls. Girls can certainly do silly things, without thinking, as well. Peer pressure is a powerful thing, so some conversations around making good choices and how to say no to doing things that our young people know are dangerous/risky/illegal are important for both boys and girls.

The following website provides some useful tips on keeping teens safe: 

Wishing you all a happy Easter and a safe and relaxing holiday! We look forward to seeing you all in Term 2.