How to help children manage their feelings; a guide for carers
What’s happening?
Young children’s feelings can often be quite intense and they can easily become overwhelmed by their feelings of joy, fear, excitement, frustration, sadness and happiness. They need adults in their life to help them understand and manage their emotions, and that’s where you come in as their carer. Here are a few ways you can help young children manage their feelings.
1] Firstly, it is necessary to recognise the importance of social and emotional development in young children and how your own emotions and the way you were guided or punished when you were a child affects how you respond to children whose behaviour is challenging.
“Recollections of past childhood experiences may include thoughts of how families allowed them to express emotions without criticism. Or upon reflection, those memories may be filled with teasing, name calling, threatening or physical punishment. When adults are able to acknowledge and validate their own feelings, they are in a better position to understand their interactions as they raise or care for children.” – Jacqueline Amor-Zitzelberger
2] Help children notice their feelings. You can do this by noticing them yourself and giving them labels; happy, sad, excited, frustrated, etc. Teaching children to pay attention to their feelings will help them understand they can have emotions without being controlled by them.
3] Talk about feelings with children. Talk about what it’s like to feel happy, sad, angry, nervous or excited and children will learn that this is one way they can express their emotions without necessarily having to act them out. By naming the emotions, children will learn to separate a feeling from a reaction. By being able to say or think ‘I feel frustrated’, they won’t need to act out being frustrated for someone to take notice.
Keep in mind that talking about difficult feelings is usually most beneficial after the feelings have calmed down a bit, and that compassion and empathy even during a meltdown or angry burst tends to support children through their feelings and bring them back to a place of calm.
The Wishing Well foundation
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families. The Wishing Well recognises the importance of the act of giving. We recognise the significance of the participation of community members and all donations are most appreciated.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment.
Support the Wishing Well
The Wishing Well uses its funds to help children in need access all manners of developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments. The Wishing Well takes referrals for any child/young person in out-of-home care in NSW. Applications are assessed by qualified personnel and on a case-by-case basis. The decision to fund an application is affected by the following:
- Funding availability
- The support the child/young person has to access the proposed therapies
- The capacity and willingness of the Carer Household to support the child/young person
- Assessment, which recommends and supports the proposed therapy as relevant to meeting the particular needs of the child/young person
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Money donated to The Wishing Well enables traumatised children access to healing therapies. Please see our website for more information:
Practical ways to help young children through trauma; a guide for carers
What’s happening?
Children that have been through trauma need a safe and calm environment to recover and work through their feelings. As their carer, there are many ways you can help support them through their trauma, particularly by staying calm and positive and listening to their feelings. Here, we’ve come up with a few more practical ways you can help young children through their trauma.
1] Return to routines. Returning to a regular routine is important for young children after they’ve experienced trauma. A regular routine of meals and chores can help children and families get back a sense of their everyday life. The predictability of this routine is reassuring to young children.
2] Offer to listen. Young children dealing with trauma will be learning how to deal with strong feelings and will need your love and understanding to work through them. Reassure them that they are safe and that the danger has passed. Take their concerns and feelings seriously and let them know that you are there for them and would like to hear how things are for them, but don’t pressure them to think or talk about their trauma if they are unwilling or not ready to do so.
3] Let them play out their feelings. Young children often find it helpful to draw pictures of their trauma or to play out the event with toys. Let them know that thinking about their trauma is normal, but you can also guide their games or drawing away from the trauma. For example, if they are drawing pictures of houses being flooded, you could guide them to draw pictures of houses being protected from floods.
The Wishing Well foundation
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families. The Wishing Well recognises the importance of the act of giving. We recognise the significance of the participation of community members and all donations are most appreciated.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment.
Support the Wishing Well
The Wishing Well uses its funds to help children in need access all manners of developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments. The Wishing Well takes referrals for any child/young person in out-of-home care in NSW. Applications are assessed by qualified personnel and on a case-by-case basis. The decision to fund an application is affected by the following:
- Funding availability
- The support the child/young person has to access the proposed therapies
- The capacity and willingness of the Carer Household to support the child/young person
- Assessment, which recommends and supports the proposed therapy as relevant to meeting the particular needs of the child/young person
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Money donated to The Wishing Well enables traumatised children access to healing therapies. Please see our website for more information:
Join with Amnesty International in calling for the Nigerian Government to double their efforts in rescuing the Chibok school girls
What’s happening?
It has been 1000 days since the abduction of 276 school girls from the Chibok region in Nigeria. Responsibility for the kidnappings was claimed by Boko Haram, an extremist and terrorist organisation based in North-Eastern Nigeria.
Amnesty International’s efforts
Amnesty International, along with the organisation Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), are calling on the Nigerian Government to redouble its efforts to ensure the release of all the girls, and all other victims of mass abduction.
“This terrible anniversary is a chilling reminder not just of the tragic disappearance of the Chibok school girls, but also all other individuals – many of whom are also children – who remain captive in Boko Haram’s hideouts across the country. These abductions and other attacks on civilians, many of which constitute war crimes, must stop.” – Makmid Kamara, Acting Country Director for Amnesty International Nigeria.
Amnesty International has also documented at least 41 other cases of mass abductions by Boko Haram since 2014. The attacks committed by the group include killing civilians, rape, destruction of homes, and bombing of places of worship, markets and other civilian structures. These all constitute as war crimes and Amnesty International believes those responsible should be brought to justice in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.
Supporting Amnesty International
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families. The Wishing Well recognises the importance of the act of giving. We recognise the significance of the participation of community members and all donations are most appreciated.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment.
How you can help
“The people of Nigeria, and indeed the world, are remembering the 1000th day after the Chibok abduction primarily because of the relentless work of Bring Back Our Girls. We hope that the energy of this formidable campaign will be replicated in demands for justice and accountability for crimes committed by all parties to the current conflict in north eastern Nigeria.” – Makmid Kamara, Acting Country Director for Amnesty International Nigeria.
Join the fight to Bring Back Our girls – Join the movement and help bring them back:
“Ours is a fight for humanity. That everyone has the right to live, to be educated and have voice. We are STANDING in solidarity for the 219 Chibok Girls who were taken on April 14th 2014, by Boko Haram and till now, they are still in captivity. Add your voice to this cause to save HUMANITY.”
http://www.bringbackourgirls.ng/?page_id=904
The therapeutic benefits of equine assisted psychotherapy: what happens in a session?
Equine-assisted psychotherapy – what is it?
Equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) for children uses trained horses to enhance a child’s physical, emotional and social wellbeing. There is a unique bond between humans and horses and this has been utilised in these therapy sessions to provide psychological therapy to children and young adults. EAP is considered short-term therapy due to its intensity and effectiveness. The child or young person is able to process and discuss feelings, behaviours and patterns by participating in grounded activities with horses.
What happens in a session?
This can vary depending on the young person’s needs, but the great thing about equine-assisted therapy is that no riding experience is necessary, and in most cases riding the horses won’t be necessary at all. Generally, in an EAP session, various exercises will be set up to help the young person think and act in ways they may not have thought of before. This will include some form of interaction with the horse; leading the horse over a series of obstacles, leading it in a certain direction, perhaps without the aid of a rope. After completing the exercises, a trained therapist will ask the child or young person about their experience, discussing their feelings in a way that can lead them to learn more about themselves and their behaviours. EAP has been found to address a variety of issues relevant to children and young people who have suffered trauma, including behavioural problems, attention deficit disorder (ADD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, relationship problems and communication difficulties.
The Wishing Well foundation
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families. The Wishing Well recognises the importance of the act of giving. We recognise the significance of the participation of community members and all donations are most appreciated.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment.
Support the Wishing Well
The Wishing Well uses its funds to help children in need access all manners of developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments. The Wishing Well takes referrals for any child/young person in out-of-home care in NSW. Applications are assessed by qualified personnel and on a case-by-case basis. The decision to fund an application is affected by the following:
- Funding availability
- The support the child/young person has to access the proposed therapies
- The capacity and willingness of the Carer Household to support the child/young person
- Assessment, which recommends and supports the proposed therapy as relevant to meeting the particular needs of the child/young person
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Money donated to The Wishing Well enables traumatised children access to healing therapies. Please see our website for more information:
wishingwellorg.wordpress.com 