Parents' Page

Everyone gets frustrated but you don’t need to fuel it by watching the worst of it. Being able to share your worries and vent when you need to can really help, talk to your friends away from the hearing of the children. Now is the time to put on a brave face in front of children.

Talk with your partner, or if you need to sunny pep talk give me a text.

Coping with Work Load Pressure

I will be using all by training and a teacher and in PSHE and mental Health for learners to share advice to keep everything on an even keel.

We have already published a number of Parent pages to help on the blog.

But to quickly to sum up what to do before you can get to read the longer pieces here is my top tips:

Let children plan their own routines: Treating older children as grown-ups and asking when they want to study and speaking to their friends can help.

Ensure you have time for yourself: People are going to put pressure on themselves to do everything, but you need to make time for yourself too.

Creating a healthy work environment. Set aside learning time and play time and time bond both. A lot of this is around good boundaries between home and work. When they go to school that creates a boundary. One of the mental health challenges of working from home is that we can get overwhelmed if home and school get too muddled. Therefore, it’s important to try to get into a routine quickly.

Making a play time breaks, going for a walk, reading a book and undertaking other fun activity every day establishes a ritual that will help them transition between learning and home life.

Socialising is key to our mental health and as home schoolers we know that really well. The coronavirus outbreak and government rules on movement are making that more difficult.

Those who are in social media isolation due to bullying are going to find it particularly difficult. Keep them busy there are lots of things to do on the calendar and the blog.

The Importance of Staying Physically Healthy

The government guidance, announced last night, currently allows: “One form of exercise a day such as a run, walk or cycle. This should be done alone or only with people you live with.”

Mental health and physical health are intertwined improving your physical health will improve your mental health. Doing things such as getting outside in nature and being mindful and getting out in the garden is great. Walking around the block will soon lose its charm – look at the ideas we have on the blog to keep it interesting.

Don’t forget there are routines you can do inside the house as well. There lots of blogs around offering children exercise routines, at the moment, add an exercise session to your daily routine. The NHS has lists of gym free workouts and 10 minute workouts you, as the parent, can follow.

Eating well is important to mental health too. That means maintaining a healthy and varied diet that’s in proportion to what you need. We are sharing recipes here at Orchard Training join in.

Finally, as a parent, try not to use cigarettes or alcohol to deal with the stress that coronavirus is causing. What we do know about the virus is that if your immune system is compromised by smoking - you’re at greater risk.

It’s vital to take a proactive approach to maintaining your mental and physical health. We’re living in unusual times – it’s important not to put too much pressure on yourself.

Remember, it is important to know we cannot do everything perfectly all the same time, so adopt the attitude of "that is good enough for today". If you need to prioritise - prioritise being a good, happy and fun parent over being a stressed teacher!