Resources to Help You Talk to Your Children
Over the last week we have posted several links to articles to help you talk to your children about traumatic events.
We have curated all the articles here so that you can find them more easily.
Tips for Parents and Educators - Supporting Children and Young People
How to talk to kids about: Trauma
How to Talk to Children About Terrorism
The Following is taken from the Pause, Breathe, Smile website. (Thanks to Katherine Adair for pointing us in this direction.
Mindfulness practices to help navigate these tough times
- Take time to foster greater presence. Being mindful of breathing helps regulate the nervous system and calms feelings of overwhelm. Listen to this guided Mindful Breathing (for adults/young adults) practice (NB: this and the following tracks are all on the same webpage, scroll down to find the correct one)
- Practice loving-kindness (scroll down to find it) – and as you expand the light of love and kindness as directed in the guided audio, imagine it embracing all those affected in the Christchurch terror attacks
- Or try this practice called ‘emotion regulation (for adults/young adults), (scroll down) if you are feeling particularly overwhelmed
- It’s going to be natural and normal for your kids to feel overwhelmed too. As well as listening togood advice posted elsewhere many parents have found these guided mindfulness practices (at the top of the page) useful for helping their kids to calm and get off to sleep at night
We can also help our kids, and ourselves, by continuing to reflect on the many examples of goodness present in the world. In our family, like many of you, we are focusing on the heroes and the nationwide outpouring of love and support.
National Helplines
- You can free call or text 1737 to talk with a trained counsellor, any time. It’s free and confidential.
- Lifeline – 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP)
- Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
- Healthline – 0800 611 116
- Samaritans – 0800 726 666
Additional Support for Children and Young People
The Children’s Commissioner has put together some great resources to guide your conversations:
- 10 Tips for Helping Children Cope with Disaster
- Helping children deal with trauma
- How to talk to children about terrorism
- How to talk to your kids about trauma
- Talking to your children about scary world news
Young people and their caregivers can also contact any of the below helplines for support and advice:
Youthline – 0800 376 633, free text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz
thelowdown.co.nz – or email team@thelowdown.co.nz or free text 5626
Kidsline – 0800 54 37 54 (0800 kidsline) for young people up to 18 years of age.
The images attached are from the booklet shared by Dr Kathleen Liberty. If you would like a hard copy of this please call in at the office.
Gallery
