HEALTH
Six Steps to Good Mental Health Help support your child’s mental health with these steps from PlanBee. Name emotions and feelings This helps your child develop a vocabulary to explain their feelings. Explain the physical sensations Help your child recognise how different emotions feel physically. Understand when/why Once your child can spot/name their emotions, help them understand the triggers. Help regulate Once they understand the source of an emotion, help them regulate. Keep everyone safe When feeling a big emotion, your
child’s brain doesn’t work in the same way as when they are calm. Help them stay safe and maintain boundaries. Once your child is calm, relate Listen, empathise and share similar experiences to help them understand their feelings and know you care.
Example of Steps 1-3
Example of Steps 4-6
Name/Explain/Understand
Regulate/Keep Everyone Safe/ Relate
Name “I can see you are really angry.”
Regulate “Take a deep breath with me.”
Explain “Your face is scrunched up and your fists are clenched.
Keep Everyone Safe “I cannot let you hit me. If you need to get your anger out, try hitting this cushion.”
Understand “I am wondering if you are angry because someone didn’t let you play.”
Relate “Once I was so angry I wanted to throw things. Your grandad helped me calm down by giving me playdough to squeeze.”
Familiesonline.co.uk
January/February 19
