Critical Incident Support for Parents

Nottingham City Educational Psychology Service

Feeling worried, stressed, and anxious in uncertain situations is normal, but acknowledging and caring for our mental health promptly can make us healthier and more resilient. This page offers information to assist you in this endeavour.

Taking care of your wellbeing

In order to help your children to feel safe and manage any of their anxieties, it is really important that you also take care of your own wellbeing. Whether it’s ensuring you have some time to relax or asking others for help when you need it, you must take care of yourself.

The following organisations offer support:

• Family Action
  • Building stronger families (family-action.org.uk)
• Mind
• Family Lives
  • Parenting and Family Support
• Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  • Mental Health Support
• Turning Point 
  • Nottingham Mental Health Helpline | (turning-point.co.uk)

Taking care of your children's wellbeing

During the difficult time, it is important that we help our children recognise and talk about the anxieties they may be having about the situation. This will help them manage and hopefully reduce their feelings of anxiety. This can be done by creating a safe space in which our children feel they can talk about any worries and ask questions, supporting communication with family and friends, and setting up positive routines, including time for play and exercise. The links below offer further advice and support.

• Keep Your Head
• Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
• Turning Point - Nottingham Mental Health Helpline
  • Turning Point | (turning-point.co.uk)
• Access support from other young people and professionals, all at your own pace
  • Kooth
• Young Health Charity For Children And Young Minds
  • YoungMinds
• World Health Organisation
  • (WHO)

Talking to children

It’s important that we talk to our children about what is happening, answering any questions they may have and addressing any ‘untruths’ they have heard. When doing this you should try to use language (and, if it would be helpful, pictures) that your children can understand. The buttons below provide some useful tools and tips to support you in talking about the coronavirus with your children.

• ZERO TO THREE - Early Connections Last a Lifetime
• 7-14 Years - My Story About Pandemics - Carol Gray
• Health | UNICEF

Setting up positive routines for the day

A positive routine is one that works for you and your family. You know your children best and should do what you think works for them. Please don’t worry if you can’t keep the routine up and please don’t keep trying to put a routine in place if it’s becoming stressful. Also, remember to keep a balance between active activities, nice family activities (e.g. board games), and learning activities.

Some ideas for learning activities:

• BBC Bitesize - BBC Learning
• Blockly Games - Learn computer programming skills
• Mystery Science: Lessons for elementary teachers

Contact

If you feel you would benefit from talking to an Educational Psychologist via phone consultation during this difficult time, you can speak to your school and request to be contacted. Contact us: eps.admin@nottinghamcity.gov.uk