Welcome to our second post about helping your child discover emotional wellbeing in a fun & focused way. Today’s theme: Self-kindness.
We all know how important it is to be kind to others, but why do we forget how to be kind to ourselves? The golden rule is ‘Treat others the way you want to be treated’, and that includes how you treat yourself. Self-compassion & kindness is more than a healthy habit, they make up the foundation of your emotional wellbeing. The past year has shown how prioritising mental health is vital in daily life, especially for children & young people.
That’s why our Self-kindness pack is bursting with goodness, complete with five fun wellbeing worksheets. Each activity introduces a new aspect of self-kindness & compassion to your child gently & creatively. To get started, we’ve included three simple self-compassion & kindness exercises to get you started:
Think about how you talk to your friends when they need help. Write down what you would say & how you would say it (E.g., Using a gentle quiet voice). Then, put yourself in the place of your friend, and read out what you would say to them. When we treat ourselves as we would a friend, we can begin to be kinder to ourselves.
Mindfulness is a useful way to practise self-kindness, especially through guided breathing exercises. Lion’s Breath is a type of breathing technique used to release stress and tension from your body & mind. Get yourself in a comfortable position, seated or standing, and aim to take the biggest breath you have all day. Hold for a count of three, and exhale like a lion! This is a great way to energise in the morning and to let go of any stress at the end of the day.
For times when you do feel overwhelmed & need a helping hand, remember to RAIN. RAIN is an easy four-step technique to help soothe you during anxiety or stress. It is another grounding technique, as it reinforces awareness & calmness. Give it a go by:
- Recognize what is happening now.
- Allow yourself to feel the experience.
- Investigate with kindness how you are feeling.
- Nurture the experience lovingly & remember to let it go.
Encourage your child to practise these techniques, and for more bliss make sure to download your FREE Self-Kindness Activity pack. We’ve got even more Wellbeing packs in the works, including our popular Mindfulness Pack available now, and be sure to visit our Resource Section for more fun.
Happy learning everyone!