Supporting each other and beating stress
It’s always good to remember most relationships between educators, children, young people and their carers are generally well established and we’re able to anticipate difficulties and be responsive.
Here are some ideas for staying calm and connected in your school or service:
- Maintain physical and emotional connections with children and young people on an individual level. In all the busyness, keeping the personal connection is just as important as at any other time of year.
- Try to keep routines as intact as possible. Establishing a sense of calm predictability will reduce tension, especially at busy times of day. Maintain rituals such as lunch or rest times. This provides everyone with a sense of familiarity and structure.
- Keep a core of known, favourite experiences for children and young people to engage with as they go through out of routine celebrations. For children these might be sensory and creative materials such as playdough, clay, painting, drawing or dramatic play props or spaces to spend time in alone.
- Also, keep part of the room familiar, arranged as it usually is and use visual supports to assist memory – timetables of events and communicate any changes. Children and young people may need to hear and see extra detail about what is happening next.
Remember to be kind to yourself and others. There is a lot going on and things can feel very demanding.
Try not to expect perfection, from yourself or others.
Try not to expect perfection, from yourself or others.