Four key steps to help children take control of their wellbeing
AS families across the country enter another week in lockdown, many parents may be finding it challenging to keep children feeling happy, healthy, positive and motivated with changes to routine and continued restrictions on movement.
To help overcome those challenges, Nuffield Health – the UK’s largest healthcare charity – has created a free downloadable wellbeing journal for young people.
Brendan Street, Professional Head of Wellbeing at Nuffield Health, shares how activity, sleep and diet can have a positive impact on children’s overall emotional wellbeing.
Encouraging children to take ownership of their wellbeing is incredibly important. At school, children are encouraged to develop selfawareness which feeds directly into their emotional wellbeing by helping them to make sense of different situations.
Encourage them to recognise how they feel at those times and how their emotions influence, and are influenced by behaviours. These skills help young people to take ownership of how they feel
– which is important, especially in times when there may be a perception of helplessness.
Sleep plays a pivotal role in children’s emotional wellbeing, as well as their overall brain function. If your children aren’t getting into a good sleep routine, then this can have a negative impact on their mood.
Encouraging young people to consider, think and write about their sleep (eg. by tracking their sleeping patterns) can not only help them to take ownership of their bedtime routine, but in turn can improve concentration and promote positive emotional wellbeing.
Being active has been proven to have a hugely positive impact on how children