How to navigate children through feelings of sadness; a guide for carers
Humans experience a wide range of emotions and sometimes we are faced with feelings of sadness. Young children, too, often experience feelings of sadness and as they aren’t born with the ability to understand or verbally express their emotions, they may not know how to express themselves very well. When this happens, we end up with children having tantrums or refusing to talk or communicate at all. As their carer, you can help them through these emotions by following a few key strategies.
1] Label the emotions. Children may not know how to express their emotions if they don’t know what to call them. The simple act of labelling their emotions, by saying something like “It looks like you are feeling sad”, will help them gain a sense of control over the emotion. It also shows your child that you love them no matter what feelings they experience and that he doesn’t have to be happy to have your love and affection.
2] Reassure them that sadness is normal. Children experiencing sadness may think they are the only ones feeling that way and can become anxious about it. The more you explain that everyone feels sad sometimes, and that it is a common feeling, the less isolated and alone they will feel. You can reassure them by sharing your own experiences of sadness and how you coped with it.
3] Help children calm themselves. One way to do this is by helping them slow down their breathing or writing a list of reasons why they can cope and why things are not terrible. We may be tempted as parents and carers to give advice or suggestions to children, however, then they may rely on others giving them this advice and not being able to find solutions on their own. Instead, ask them questions that provoke them into thinking. “What do you think might help?” or “What might make this better?” “Do you think this or this will be better?”
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 Save The Children in the new year’s appeal to save children from drought
What’s happening?
Drought in East Africa has left millions of people at risk of starvation. An estimated six and half million children could be at risk of starvation in the Horn of Africa as a result of back-to-back droughts in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. Nearly half a million children in the region are already suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Widespread drought has caused successive crop failures, meaning scores of families have been left with no food and no way of earning income for their essential needs. Families are eating one meal a day at most, and what they do have to eat is often not very nutritious because they can only afford the cheapest food available. Without adequate food, children are weak and vulnerable to illness.
Save The Children’s teams are on the ground in Africa delivering life-saving aid;
- they provide food aid and cash transfers so children can eat.
- their mobile health teams are treating children suffering from severe malnutrition.
- they are getting clean drinking water to hard-to-reach communities.
- they are providing technical assistance to governments to support their responses.
Act now to support children and families in East Africa that urgently need your help:
https://www.savethechildren.org.au/donate/east-africa-drought-emergency-appeal
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 Save the Children to call for equality for every Australian
What’s happening?
Save the Children commissioned a poll that found that 84% of Australians are concerned about child discrimination within Australia. The poll also found that 9 out of 10 Australians think most Indigenous children start primary school not ready to learn, almost two-thirds say a lack of access to support services is part of the cause and 46% of Australians think the federal government needs to do more to improve school readiness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Save the Children’s efforts
Save the Children have launched a global campaign called Every Last Child to highlight and reduce discrimination faced by children here in Australia and around the world. The campaign will work to ensure every child enjoys equal opportunities, growing up with access to quality healthcare, education and nutrition – regardless of who they are or where they live.
Indigenous children make up nearly 35 percent of all children in out‐of‐home care in Australia, despite representing just 5 percent of the population.
“Aboriginal children are more than twice as likely to not be school ready when they first attend primary school, and the disadvantage gap normally widens as they grow up. This is particularly concerning given we know school readiness can help prevent the likelihood of a child being removed from their families and culture and placed in out-of-home care.” – Save the Children CEO Paul Ronalds
Join with Save the Children and fight for equality for every Australian child:
https://www.savethechildren.org.au/about-us/media-and-publications/latest-news/years/equality-for-every-australian-child
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:
Guiding children through feelings of anger; a guide for carers
Anger is something that everyone experiences and it is a feeling that can occur in children as young as three or four months old. When young children are unable to effectively manage their anger, it can lead to aggressive behaviour. As a carer, you can help guide children through their feelings of anger so that they can express their anger through words rather than aggressive actions.
1] Create an environment where all feelings are valid – both pleasant and unpleasant ones, so children know that even their feelings of anger are allowed – it is only the actions that need to be limited. Restore a sense of calm and safety – don’t give them a ‘time out’ but ensure you sit with them and help them through their feelings so that they know they aren’t alone with their feelings, which might be scary for a young child.
2] Encourage children to talk about their feelings of anger. Children will be better able to understand these emotions when adults explain it to them. You can use books and stories about anger to help them understand the feelings. Talk about examples of anger and frustration and also about appropriate responses to those feelings.
3] Ensure that you yourself and modelling appropriate responses to feelings of anger, as children will pick up on the way you respond to anger and will tend to copy that behaviour. Children learn about how to handle disagreements and conflicts from watching you.
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 