Taking Care of Your Wellbeing
Last week I wrote a short piece about looking after our wellbeing during this lockdown season. Do you remember the 5 areas we can focus one? They were:
How are you going at making some daily habits for each one? I’d really appreciate hearing from any College family who have proactively taken some steps in this area.
Could you let me know? It’s great if we can share some positive stories with each other ---> [email protected]
Let’s be Kind (and safe) Online!
So, we are online for schooling for the next little while and our children are spending significantly more time on those screens, but it doesn’t mean that they have free reign! When talking with your teenager about their time online, try always to be positive and be open. Frame the conversation around their health and their habits.
What healthy boundaries might you need to introduce right now?
It is important to know and understand that many of the same behaviours that keep children safe offline can help keep children safe online. Here are a just few suggestions – especially for the next 4 weeks or so:
⇒ Today is a great opportunity to talk to your kids about what they are doing online, safe and age-appropriate platforms, and the steps they take to stay safe online. Make sure they can tell you without fear of being banned from their devices if anything happens online that makes them feel upset in any way or they see something confronting. Be available to chat it through with them, they may not show it – but they need your wisdom.
⇒ Agree on how much time your children spend online beyond their online learning. Include how long they can play games, what group chats they are allowed to use, and how long they spend on them. Discuss this with them…we know that our teenagers really value agency – being included in the decision making process!
⇒ No devices at dinner for the whole family…parents included! No devices after a particular time. I hear some excellent stories of parents using a box or a container where they can place devices, on silent or aeroplane mode for meal times or even overnight. Could you try this in your home? Also, what devices are in the teenage bedroom overnight? Might be good to check that one too! We really want our children to have a healthy, restful night of sleep…and not the buzzing of notifications at 1.30am!
⇒ Encourage and constantly reinforce positive social values – this is a very important one. We all need to be kind, respectful, and responsible online at all times. Understanding why this is so important can help keep our teenagers safe online. The Wellbeing Team here at the College often has conversations with students about a message they sent, or a post they uploaded… that they regret.
We ask them...and this is definitely one you can use at home:
‘Did you THINK before posting or sending that message/photo etc.?’ And we know that our teenagers aren’t great at thinking things through! Maybe u can use an image or poster like this one at home?
⇒ It’s a good time to check and re-check your Safe Search options that most browsers and standard search engines have (usually under the 'Settings' menu) and parental controls on devices, especially for younger children.
I wish all the best for the coming week and again, reach out and connect with the Wellbeing Team here at the College. We’d love to hear from you.
Mr Stuart McCormack
Director of Student Wellbeing - Senior School