The transition between Primary and Secondary School is daunting for children and parents alike. A year in, what do I wish I had known about the processl?
I am always encouraging people to make time for well-being. I have written blogs about it, watched TEDTalks and read research about it and know that is essential to a happy, healthy life. So why was I feeling so guilty when I was making time for my own well-being?! Here is a quick blog about my realisation of where I had been going wrong.
As a parent, it is incredibly hard to see your child lacking in confidence or self-worth, comparing themselves to others and worrying about failure. This in itself breeds anxiety; even if your child has the strategies and understanding to manage their anxiety on a day to day basis, if their self-esteem is low, that anxiety is likely to keep rearing its ugly head. I have been researching how I can support my own children to build their self-esteem and what I have found has been very helpful.
We have all heard that it’s important to have a bit of breathing space, but why do we so often ignore it? Do we really understand the impact? I’m not sure; if we did, I believe we would readily give ourselves permission to pause. In fact, if we knew how stopping, even for 10 minutes a day, improves our productivity as well as the support we can give to others, we would make it a priority.
New Year's Eve is just around the corner and many of us are starting to think of our resolutions for 2018. Unfortunately, resolutions often use negative language, can be vague, unmeasurable and too big a goal, which sets you up for failure. Here are my top tips for setting an achievable, manageable New Year's Resolution.
Not being able to sleep can become a vicious cycle that grows and grows until you just can’t see what you can do to help. It doesn’t help that things often seem worse in the night… the thoughts then creep in… The things we say to ourselves and the words we use are incredibly powerful. How can we stop these from keeping us awake?
How many of you feel as if you are ‘pretending’ to be calm and in control? Do you put on a ‘mask’ to face the world? How often do you look at others and think, “Why can’t I be as together/in-control/confident/calm as them?” Anxiety can be debilitating. Anxiety can make you feel alone and worthless. Anxiety can cloud all of your decisions and change the course of your life. You will be surprised at just how many people suffer from anxiety and many of those are the people you admire for seeming so in-control.
I have been a primary school teacher for 16 years and a mother for 9. I know full well how difficult it can be for children to separate from their parents at the beginning of a school day. As a parent, I know just how upsetting it is to have to leave them when they don’t want you to go, however, as a teacher I can assure you that 99% of the time they are fine within minutes. That doesn’t stop the worrying though! Here are a few suggestions of ways to make the transition easier for everyone involved.
Anxiety has three different parts to it, the first being the anxious thoughts: “What if they don’t like me?”, “Will I embarrass myself?”, “Is there a monster under the bed?”, “Will I get it wrong?”, “This may make me ill.” As adults, we try to help by talking about their worries and/or downplaying these thoughts; telling our children it will all be ok, there are no monsters and so on. Often we try to make it better by saying things like, “Don’t be silly, everyone will like you because…” We have the best intentions, but is it actually helping?
Certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
The Society of Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Certified Practitioner of Integral Eye Movement Therapy.
The Association for Integral Eye Movement Practitioners
Hypnosis and Clinical Hypnotherapy Diploma SSOH.
