Supporting Your Child During the COVID-19 Crisis
Activities That Promote Learning At Home
Andy Cope runs workshops called The Art of Being Brilliant for Schools, where the key is to get children to embrace the importance of happiness. He reports... Even during stressful times, there’s a lot you can do to help your child be happier on a day-to-day basis.
These include:
These include:
- Keeping a gratitude journal. ‘Every day – even if it’s been a rubbish day – your child can write down 10 things that they’re grateful for but usually take for granted. This stops them focusing on the negative,’ Andy says.
- Laughing. It sounds obvious, but it releases feel-good hormones and reduces stress hormones. Sit down together and watch a funny DVD or look up silly videos on YouTube.
- Performing random acts of kindness, such as making someone a cup of tea (unprompted), helping with the washing-up or reading their younger sibling a story.
- Writing a letter to themselves. ‘Get them to imagine they’re 30 years old and writing to their childhood self. What advice would they give themselves?’ asks Andy.
- Encouraging a growth mindset. ‘Praise children for hard work and perseverance rather than results, rewarding the effort rather than the outcome,’ Andy says.
- Exercising. There’s a strong link between physical activity and mental wellbeing, so walking or cycling to school, playing football in the garden after school or taking up dance or tennis lessons could boost your child’s emotional health.
- Celebrating their strengths. ‘At school, if a child is rubbish at maths, they’re just given more maths, which makes them feel worse. So at home, focus on praising the things they’re good at and doing more of them,’ suggests Andy.
- Reading together. ‘You can’t underestimate the impact of sitting on your child’s bed and reading them a bedtime story – even if they’re perfectly capable of reading by themselves,’ Andy says.
- Being more sociable. ‘Instead of walking around with your heads down, smile at everyone within 10 feet and make eye contact and say “hello” to everyone within five feet.’
- Hugging. ‘Most hugs only last 2.1 seconds, but to get the maximum love-surge, they need to last seven seconds or longer, so introducing the seven-second hug is a really easy way of making your child feel special,’ Andy explains.