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10 green ideas - gardening with children

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10 green ideas - gardening with children

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What it is:
‍ Gardening can be a really creative exercise! Build an enchanting miniature garden to represent the setting for a story or theme that you're exploring, like a wizard's cottage or a fairy garden.

What you need:

Paper and pens for planning

A container such as a seed tray, fruit punnet or mushroom tray

Potting compost or soil

Plug plants, cuttings and/or seeds of your choice that fit your theme

Natural materials such as moss, pines cones and twigs

Items for extra structures or decoration such as modelling clay, bottle/jar lids, lollypop sticks, pebbles and gravel

Miniature figures or toys fitting the theme

How to do it:
‍ Encourage your young helpers to think of a story or a theme, and build your miniature garden around that theme.

Fill your container with soil and start by planting the largest plants. Sprinkle your small flower seeds carefully onto the soil and cover them gently with an extra layer of compost, and mist with a spray bottle. Place your miniature items, like furniture, clay figurines, signs, and small toys into the garden to add depth and character. Remember to keep misting and gently watering the garden to keep all the plants thriving.

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2. Grow your own vegetable garden
What it is:
‍ Growing food can be incredibly exciting for little ones. But not just that - it develops an understanding of where our food comes from, and builds an appreciation for the hard work farmers do. It also inspires a love for the garden and the outdoors, as well as being immensely satisfying at harvest time. Think of the soups you can make!

Gardening tools (trowel, watering can, gardening gloves)

Watering can

Compost

A spot in the garden

Vegetable seeds or seedlings

How to do it:
‍ Clear away weeds and grass in the area you have set aside for your vegetable garden. Use a garden fork to loosen the soil and mix some compost into it. Plant your seeds and seedlings in a row, making sure you follow the planting instructions for each particular crop.

Water your seedlings regularly and check on them daily. You can add some hay or straw on the soil around the roots if you want to give your plants an extra headstart - this will help the soil to retain moisture and it keeps some of the peskier bugs away. When harvest time comes, it'll be the most magical experience for the little ones. Pick the vegetables and prepare a delicious soup - it will encourage even the pickiest eaters to take an adventurous bite if they've grown the vegetables themselves!

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‍3. Sprouting seeds
What it is:
‍ This activity shows exactly how each seed grows in its own time. By creating rows of different types of seeds, you can give the children a first-hand view of the incredible process of seed growth, day by day!

‍ What you need:

A variety of different types of seeds (beans, peas, vegetables, tree seeds, flower seeds and any others

A paper towel

A spray bottle

Water

An area with direct light (but no harsh sunlight)

How to do it: ‍

Place the paper towel open on a flat surface in the area that receives direct light during the day. Place each different type of seed on the paper towel, in a line. Make sure to write a little note stating which one is which - this makes it easier to monitor each "crop" and compare it with the others.

Gently spray the different seeds. How often you need to spray will depend on the weather conditions, the idea is just to make sure the seeds don't dry out completely. As they start to sprout, you will definitely appreciate having kept a record of which seeds are which plants. Once your sprouts have well-shaped roots and start to make leaves, they're ready to transplant into the soil.

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4. Build a terrarium
What it is:
‍A mini-terrarium is fun to build and easy to keep alive - you don't have to have any green thumbs! Children have the joy of caring for their own creations on an ongoing basis, nurturing a love for nature. And you can let them get creative with personalising their own terrarium and designing it how they like. ‍

‍ What you need:

Terrarium moss (you can buy this from most exotic pet stores or garden centres, it might come brown but it quickly grows to be green when it's watered)

Small pebbles

Activated charcoal

Soil

Small plastic figurines

Cuttings from succulent plants

A container like a glass bowl

Small plants

A spray bottle

How to do it:
Line the bottom of the container/jar with pebbles by placing them evenly along the bottom. Next, add the charcoal to the jar to form an even layer above the pebbles. Add a thick level of soil above the pebbles - it needs to be thick enough to allow root growth for the plants it will hold. Now add in your succulent cuttings - succulents grow well if you simply stick the stem into the soil. Lastly, decorate your terrarium with the plastic toys and figurines and also sprinkle the moss over the soil. Keep everything alive and thriving by regularly misting the soil.

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5. Be a soil scientist
What it is:
‍ This experiment shows children that plants, like people and animals, also need food in order to grow. By comparing the progress of a plant that has compost versus one that doesn't have compost, children can understand the role of healthy soil in growing crops and plants.

What you need:

2 identical pot plants (you can opt for any plants)

2 larger pots (than the container plants)

Ready-to-use compost

Garden soil or John Innes seed compost

Clear plastic bottle for watering container

Sieve, trowels & gloves

Equipment to record growth like paper and pencils

How to do it:
Fill one of the plant pots with soil, leaving room for the plant. Fill the other plant pot with a mixture of 80% soil and 20% compost. Create a well in the centre of the soil in both pots and place one of the identical plants in each pot so that one plant is in the compost and soil mixture but the other plant is planted in a soil-only pot.

Remember to mark them so that you can easily identify which is which. The pot plants need to be placed side-by-side to get the correct amount of sun and light exposure according to the needs of the plant you're trying to grow. As they grow, ask the children to notice the difference - which plant is healthier? What differences can they see?

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6. Build a homemade bug house
What it is:
‍ You may not love the idea of keeping bugs, but these containers encourage outdoor playtime, a love for nature, and they keep the little critters children find outdoors well contained.

What you need:

An empty container with a lid

Small piece of mesh for covering windows

Decorating supplies like paper, markers, stickers, etc. (totally optional, your bug isn't going to know the difference)

Supplies & Tools:

X-acto knife

Glue stick

Packing tape

Scissors or paper cutter (optional, for cutting decorative paper to size)

Ruler (optional, for measuring paper before cutting)

How to do it:
Cut square shapes into the sides of the container to act as windows before giving the containers to the children. Let them have fun decorating the sides of the container by sticking papers, stickers, drawings, and any other pretty nick-nacks you may have, to the sides. Just be sure to cover the windows with blocks with mesh too. Before you add bugs, place some grass, twigs, and soil in the container so that it truly feels like home for a critter. Now, get out into the garden and catch some bugs!

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7. Exploring herbs
What it is:
‍ Herbs are delicious when used in your home-cooked recipes. They're also fun to grow and a great way to develop a love for nature when children have a chance to grow, harvest and eat their own herbs. You can use the chance to teach them about the different smells and taste of different herbs, too.

What you need:

A variety of herbs to explore

Herb seeds or seedlings

Craft and cooking supplies as needed

Watering can

How to do it:
‍Decide whether you prefer to grow your herbs from seeds or from seedlings. Follow the directions that come with the seeds or seedlings to ensure your plants grow strong and healthy, and in the right conditions.

Make it part of your daily routine to visit your plants with the children, gently water them with the watering can, and notice any new leaves and growth. When your herb plants are looking strong, start to pick the leaves and rub them between your fingers to release the smell. You can use this chance to talk about how the smells are different, and what herbs they like the smell of best. The children can then help pick the leaves to add into meals.

If you grow herbs like lavender, pick the flowers and leave them on a table to dry. You can give them to the children and ask the parents to add them to their bathwater - lavender is wonderfully soothing and is actually supposed to encourage deep and restful sleep!

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8. Plant pot decorating

What it is: ‍

Decorating a plant pot personalises the experience of growing a pot plant, individualising each plant. It's amazing to see how unique each pot comes out, despite giving a class of children the same instructions. Let their creativity run wild.

What you need:

Terracotta or plastic pots

A selection of recycled containers such as metal cans or buckets if you wish to use them

PVA glue, paint, old gardening magazines, twine, paintbrushes or marker pens

If using mosaics - pebbles or tiles and adhesive

How to do it:
‍ Familiarise yourself with the plant pot you're using for this. Terracotta is absorbent, making it suitable for decorating using marker pens or paint. Plastic pots are difficult to draw on, so you might want to use glue to apply decorative items like buttons, sequence, beads, and pictures instead.

Place the decorations in containers on the tables where the children will be working and allow them to choose how they wish to decorate their pots, demonstrating how to use the glue safely. Seal your decorations by applying a coat of PVA paint when you're done. ‍

9. Build a dinosaur garden
What it is:
‍ This activity engages every part of the imagination as children try to picture what the world looked like when dinosaurs were around. What plants would they like to eat, and how different would it look compared to the world right now?

‍ What you need:

A space in the garden

Plants like ferns, elephant ears, and philodendrons

Planting implements like small hand spades

How to do it:
Research plants from the Mesozoic time period that you can use to recreate a true dinosaur environment. These include plants like tree ferns, horsetails, and Bald Cyprus plants - but you can adapt your choice of plants to suit your environment. Plant your foliage in a circle to create a border around the dinosaur garden. Decorate it with plastic model dinosaurs and tree logs to create a realistic dinosaur world for endless hours of jurassic park fun.

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What it is: ‍

Learning how to sow seeds is one of the most important steps in successfully growing flowers or vegetables. It encourages a love for the earth, and also helps to develop fine motor skills and coordination. A perfect mix!

What you need:

Trowel

Hand rake

Dibber

Measuring stick

Kneelers

Gardening gloves

Watering can

Labels & waterproof pen/pencil

String

Sticks, or straws (to mark rows)

Seeds

How to do it:
The depth and the spread between seeds depends on what seeds you're sowing. Always look at the instructions on the packet. Create a line in the soil (the packet should tell you how deep to make this line). Next, gently drop the seeds in the line. If they're large enough, move them apart with your fingers so they don't touch. Sprinkle soil over them so that they're gently covered and water them with a light mist so that the water doesn't move the soil and expose the seeds. Remember to water the seeds regularly, and, before you know it, little sprouts will start to pop up from the soil!

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10 green ideas to explore gardening with children | Famly

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What it is: ‍ Gardening can be a really creative exercise! Build an enchanting miniature garden to represent the setting for a story or theme that you're exploring, like a wizard's cottage or a fairy garden.

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Taking early learning and the EYFS outdoors has been regularly cited as one way to reduce transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the benefits to learning outdoors go far beyond just that, as Sue Asquith explains.

You'll also get to read 38 different ways you can follow the EYFS outdoors, with each idea attached to a different key area of learning.

The activity habits that we develop in early childhood matter. Healthy eating, physical exercise, our relationship with the outdoors - they all form the basis for a child's whole lifestyle, in the short- and long-term.

But is that all that outdoor learning is about in the Early Years? Not exactly. As well as providing the perfect backdrop for physical activity, spending time outdoors has been shown to positively affect your mood, lower stress, blood pressure and heart rates.

We've known about many of these crucial benefits to outdoor learning in the EYFS for some time now. But there's one slightly new reason why it might be time to brush up how you're approaching the EYFS outdoors...

Why are we focusing on outdoor learning now?

Covid-19 has led to more than one drastic change to the way we do things in the Early Years. A pivot to more outdoor learning may just be one of the most positive.

During the Coronavirus update on 25/05/2020, Boris Johnson acknowledged "that the transmission of the virus is lower outdoors and that it is easier to follow COVID secure guidelines in open spaces."

That's not all. Department for Education (DfE) guidance suggests that we risk-assess activities and resources and 'keep windows open as far as possible to ensure ventilation and...use outdoor areas as much as possible". Guidance from the DfE on protective measures to aid reopening recommends you "consider which lessons or classroom activities could take place outdoors," and that you "Use outside space for outdoor education, where possible, as this can limit transmission and more easily allow for distance between children and staff."

All in, it's time we start planning to be enabling a significant deal more of the EYFS outdoors.

Planning for our "new norm"

As lockdown restrictions lift and more children return to their childcare, we are all busily drawing up and adjusting COVID-19 risk assessments. We of course need to consider how we might coexist with this virus whilst making "reasonable endeavours to deliver the EYFS learning and development requirements as far as possible in the current circumstances".

Increasingly, it seems that optimising chances for children to be outdoors may form a crucial part of these plans.

Of course, there are many things to take into consideration when planning for outdoor learning, including the fickle UK weather. Most importantly though, we need to consider learning possibilities to cover all seven areas of learning and development outdoors, as well as providing opportunities for children to build those all-important Characteristics of Effective Learning skills for life too.

These are present as children actively learn through first-hand experiences of the world, show curiosity, play and explore as well as take chances to create and think critically about the world they're exploring.

With that in mind, here are 38 ideas, broken up into the different EYFS areas, to help you plan for bring the EYFS outdoors.

1. The EYFS Outdoors: Personal, social, and emotional development ideas

Try low-level experiences for babies and young children, like using old tyres as a sturdy base for investigations - they could be a holder for a washing up bowl for water play or a planter for herbs to investigate with their key person.

Wind chimes and windsocks, old CDs, and other objects suspended from a tree branch make interesting things for babies and young children to watch and adults to key into cues.

Parachute games can help form good relationships as children play with others.

Construction with crates, planks, large blocks are great for physical development and problem-solving.

The outdoors is also a great opportunity to build relationships in key person groups too.

2. The EYFS outdoors: Communication and language ideas

3. The EYFS Outdoors: Physical development ideas

Consider how babies can safely explore outdoors. For example, how to facilitate tummy time, chances to learn to crawl, creep and walk.

Make instruments or have 'Wake up shake up' sessions to further explore movement, giving children free rein to move and dance. Dance with ribbons and scarves to encourage gross motor skills, crossing the midline and bi-lateral movements.

Provide resources for the children to help build an assault course outside.

Sweeping brushes and other tools can help develop more physical skills. Large scale mark-making can be done with chalks or water and large brushes on the floor or a large piece of paper.

Consider nooks and shaded areas for play and rest too.

4. The EYFS Outdoors: Literacy ideas

5. The EYFS Outdoors: Mathematics ideas

6. The EYFS Outdoors: Understanding the world ideas

Create story boxes and story sacks to spark creativity.

Create a stage (this could be a chalked or taped off area or made from decking or crates) for children to recreate stories, make up plays or puppet and dance shows.

Provide an arts area for children to explore various media - the outdoors brings a hue of natural colours for extra inspiration.

Provide clipboards and pencils to inspire children to write and draw plans (Maybe they want to use them in the construction area or you might be planning to create a Bugingham Place or Nectar Café)?

7. The EYFS Outdoors: Expressive Arts and design ideas

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The EYFS Outdoors: 38 Outdoor Learning Activities | Famly

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Taking early learning and the EYFS outdoors has been regularly cited as one way to reduce transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the benefits to learning outdoors go far beyond just that, as Sue Asquith explains. You'll also get to read 38 different ways you can follow the EYFS outdoors, with each idea attached to a different key area of learning.

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MeeToo Super Peers are undergraduates from a number of different disciplines including psychology, social science, medicine, teaching or education. They are trained to provide MeeToo users with useful replies and to make sure that no one gets left out.

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MeeToo Super Peers are undergraduates from a number of different disciplines including psychology, social science, medicine, teaching or education. They are trained to provide MeeToo users with useful replies and to make sure that no one gets left out.

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Parent guide to age rating classification

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Parent guide to age rating classification

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Elephant tusks are actually teeth. They are elongated incisors. We have incisors too - they're the teeth at the front of our mouths, which we use for biting food. In elephants, these incisors continue to grow throughout their lives, extending from deep within their upper jaw.

The tusks are one of the most noticeable features of elephants, along with their massive body size and long trunk ( one of the most amazing and versatile appendages in the animal world - but that is another story). In African elephants both males and females have tusks, while in Asian elephants only the males do.

While our incisors are used only for biting food, elephants use theirs for a whole range of activities, from digging holes and stripping bark from trees to fighting. They'll even rest a weary trunk upon their tusks.

From the author, Author provided

Generally speaking, male elephants use their impressive size to intimidate rivals and impress females. Size is so important in attracting mates that adult males have evolved to be twice as large as adult females, reaching a whopping seven metric tonnes. This is the weight of four family cars - with passengers. As part of the package, male elephant tusks are often five to seven times as large as those of adult females.

Some of the largest tusks ever recorded belonged to an old elephant called Ahmed, who lived in Kenya until the ripe old age of 65. His tusks were 3m in length and weighed 67kg each. That is 5kg more than the average weight of an adult human. Ahmed's tusks were so big that it was rumoured he had to walk backwards uphill - a great story, but unlikely to be true.

Thanks to protection from the president of Kenya at the time, Ahmed got to live out his life in full, dying of old age in 1974. Sadly this is not the case for many elephants.

The cost of ivory

Humans have long been attracted to the beautiful tusks of elephants. Ivory remains one of the most highly prized materials in the natural world. Unfortunately, this demand has led to the deaths of thousands of elephants across Africa, because the only way that humans can get hold of the elephant's tusks is by killing them. Those targeted are often the oldest and largest animals - because they have the biggest and therefore most valuable tusks.

This is not only tragic for individual animals, but also for the wider elephant population, as the oldest and wisest elephants play a key leadership role in elephant society. In fact, we conducted experiments showing that the oldest elephant matriarchs - the female leaders of the family groups - were much better than younger matriarchs at distinguishing more dangerous male lions from female lions using just the sound of their roars.

The killing of elephants for ivory has actually resulted in elephants having smaller tusks now than they did just a few decades ago ( a 2015 study noted a 21%-37% decline). Plus, particularly in the areas where illegal killing has been most common, there is a huge increase in the number of elephants that don't have any tusks at all. In a normal population you might expect two or three out of every hundred elephants to be tuskless, but in one population in Mozambique this has reached 32%.

Now, these elephants are likely to be at an advantage as they are much less likely to be targeted by poachers. A greater chance of surviving and breeding might explain why these tuskless animals have become more common in the population. ( Studies are underway) to determine whether that is the case. What we don't know is how not having tusks affects the day-to-day lives of these elephants when it comes to feeding and interacting with others in the population.

The good news, however, is that when protected and given space to roam, elephant populations can flourish. There are many excellent conservation projects across Africa and Asia working hard to ensure that elephants - and their tusks - are a part of the natural world for many years to come.

Indeed, by greatly reducing the number of elephants killed for their ivory, we can protect remaining populations, and potentially halt, or even reverse, the decline in tusk size. Who knows, maybe there is a young elephant in Africa who is destined to one day rival Ahmed and his mighty tusks.

As for hair ...

Interestingly, elephants and humans both have hair. In fact, all mammals have hair at some point in their lives, even whales and dolphins. It is just present in differing amounts, which generally depends on how useful it is to the animal for keeping warm.

Elephants for example, have a very sparse covering of wiry hair across their bodies, which is only noticeable from very close up. Compare this to sea otters, which have some of the most densely packed hair in the mammal world: 130,000 hairs per sq cm.

The human head, by comparison, has between 124-200 hairs per sq cm. For sea otters, the value of that dense fur is to keep them warm in chilly seawater. Elephants commonly face the opposite challenge of needing to stay cool in hot environments, and therefore have very little hair.

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Curious Kids: why do elephants have tusks?

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Elephant tusks are actually teeth. They are elongated incisors. We have incisors too - they're the teeth at the front of our mouths, which we use for biting food. In elephants, these incisors continue to grow throughout their lives, extending from deep within their upper jaw.

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In trees we trust

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For many, it is the last week of school before the Easter stint at home, but this time it's different. It is springtime; a time of the year where nature nudges us into thinking about renewal, rebirth and how life is full of little green shoots.

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Baking with children is a fun way to pass the time at home - plus, everyone gets to share some delicious treats at the end.

But baking doesn't have to take all day, or make a big mess. In fact, we've got some recipes that are practically fool-proof, and perfectly safe to bake with the help of young children. As an added safety-precaution, keep children away from the oven and the stove and carefully guide them as they help with the mixing, the pouring, the decorating and, of course, licking the bowl!

Let's take a look at the top ten recipes that make baking with children a breeze.

1. Cake in a mug

What it is:
Whip together a moist, chocolatey cake in under 5 minutes - yes, that includes baking time. This recipe is ideal for children because it's simple, quick, and doesn't involve any hot pans or hand mixers.
What you'll need:

4 tbs self-raising flour

2 tbs sugar

2 tbs cocoa

1 egg

3 tbs milk

3 tbs vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbs milk chocolate chips

How to start baking with children:
Add the dry ingredients to a large mug and mix them together - be sure to enlist the help of eager little hands to help with this step. Crack an egg over the top and lightly stir so that the yolk breaks apart (this part is best for adult hands to handle). Then, hand over control of the mixing spoon again to the chef-in-training to mix in the wet ingredients together. Combine the wet and dry ingredients well. Lastly, add the chocolate chips, mix well, and cook on "high" in the microwave for 3 minutes. Remember to let it cool before you serve it to the children!

2. Three-ingredient Nutella brownies

What it is:
One of the easiest child-friendly recipes you can find, considering how decadent and delicious the final outcome is. You only need three ingredients to make it happen, and it's a guaranteed hit with the little ones.
What you will need:

1 cup Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread

120 g self-raising flour

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

How to start baking with children:
Preheat your oven to 180°C. Place 9 cupcake liners on a tray and set aside. Now, have your little helper mix all three ingredients together (and give a hand if you need to). Scoop the mixture into the cupcake liners, about ¾ full. If you demonstrate carefully, young hands can help with this part too. Bake for 20-25 minutes before you leave them to cool.

3. Apple crumble cake

What it is:
The lightness of a deliciously baked cake combined with the fruitiness of a great apple-pie. It's a winner with the children, it's easy enough to create, and the results are always tasty.
What you will need:

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup caster sugar

115g butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

440g canned apple pie filling

1/4 cup icing sugar *to decorate

How to start baking with children:
Help the children to sift together the flour and sugar while you prepare the butter by getting it soft enough to mix. Next, break the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles crumbs, and then add the egg. The children can help to press about half of this mixture into a greased and lined 20cm round tin. Add the apple pie filling, before the letting children sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the top to form the crumble. Bake at 180C for 40 minutes, and cool on a wire rack. Dust with castor sugar before you serve it.

4. Basic chocolate chip cookies

What it is:
The chocolate chip cookie needs no introduction - it's a classic family favourite. This version is even simpler and quicker than most, making it ideal to tackle with the help of your junior bakers.
What you'll need:

125 g butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg

1 3/4 cups self-raising flour

1/4 tsp salt

150 g milk chocolate chips

How to start baking with children:
Preheat your oven to 180°C. Combine the cream, butter, sugar and vanilla into a mixing bowl. Add in the egg, flour and salt and then stir in the chocolate chips. Let your young helper do the stirring - they can mix away until they get tired. Then, you and the children should use spoons to scoop the mixture into balls and place the balls on a baking tray, keeping enough space between the balls for them to spread without touching each other. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes before placing them on a cooling tray. When they're cool, serve them with milk, tea, or cocoa.

5. Caramel banana blondies

What it is:
It's creamy, it's rich, it's packed with potassium and it's easy enough for children to create with a little guidance.
What you will need:

2 ripe bananas, sliced

250g golden caster sugar

100g butter

100g, caramel, from a jar or tin (Nestlé Carnation Caramel works well) plus 2 tbsp for the top

100g white chocolate

2 eggs

200g self-raising flour

How to start baking with children:
Heat your oven to 180°C. Melt the sugar, butter, caramel and chocolate together until smooth - it's best for the adults to handle this part. Once it has cooled a little, the younger baker can help by adding the eggs and folding in the flour and banana. Then, everyone can now pour the mixture into a lined 20cm square tin. Finally, invite the little hands to add a few blobs of caramel to the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, and let cool.

6. Jam tarts

What it is:
A tea-time must-have! Jam tarts are a classic to enjoy as a snack, and they're simple enough for baking with children.
What you will need:

400g flour

200g butter, chilled and diced

50g golden caster sugar

2 egg yolks

Grated rind from one orange

Jam

How to start baking with children:
Combine your flour, the chilled and diced butter to breadcrumbs. This is easier when you use a food processor. Your little helper can help by pressing the buttons.
Add golden caster sugar and mix before adding your 2 egg yolks and grated orange rind. Ask your young baker to add the ingredients to the food processor for you, but be careful to keep it unplugged at this point. Add a splash of water so that you can get a doughy consistency. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees. Roll out the pastry and show the children how to stamp out circles using an upside down cup or a cookie cutter (they should be big enough to fit 2 × 12-hole jam tart tins). Bake for 15 minutes, then show the children how to add small spoonfuls of jam to each and bake for 5 mins. Serve and enjoy!

7. Coconut lemon slices

What it is:
It's the easiest no-bake recipe for delicious flavourful lemony slices. The children will love the mixing and the simplicity of this creation. Plus, it's packed with vitamin C.

1 cup desiccated coconut

395g sweetened condensed milk

200g unsalted butter melted

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 lemons, rinds and seeds removed

500g sweet plain biscuits, crushed

3 tbs lemon juice

50g unsalted butter, melted

2 cups icing sugar

How to start baking with children:
Line a 20 x 30cm plastic airtight container with baking paper. Little hands can help you to mix the biscuits and coconut together in a large bowl. Add all other base ingredients and combine well. Press it into the container (children are great at this part) and let it cool in the refrigerator. To create the icing, combine all the ingredients into a bowl and get your helper to mix them together. Spread it over the mixture that you already have in the container and refrigerate again until you're ready to serve it. Cut into squares, serve, and enjoy.

8. The impossible pie

What it is:
We call it the impossible pie because it's impossibly easy to create and impossibly delicious. It's also interesting how well it forms a crust over the top without any help. It's a fool-proof recipe and it's child-friendly.
What you will need:

4 eggs

1/2 cup butter melted

1/2 cup plain flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup coconut

2 cups milk

2 tsp vanilla essence

How to start baking with children:
Little helpers, at the ready for mixing! Combine all of the ingredients together and mix well (make sure to tell the children how important this task is). Pour the mixture into a greased pie tin. Bake in the oven at 170C for 1 hour or until firm. Allow it to cool before you serve it and marvel at the simplistic wonder of the recipe.

9. Three-ingredient almond biscuits

What it is:
With three simple ingredients, you can put little hands to work and create deliciously flavourful and chewy almond biscuits. When children can almost make this whole recipe themselves, they'll be even more proud of the delicious results.
What you'll need:
How to start baking with children:
Preheat the oven to 200°C and ask your little helper to stand ready with a mixing spoon. Combine all three ingredients - it might be difficult for younger arms to mix the batter smoothly, so give a hand where it might be helpful. Next, carefully spoon the batter onto a baking tray into little balls. Small hands can use a fork to flatten the balls slightly. Demonstrate slowly and carefully how it's done, and it will be a breeze for both of you. Bake for 10 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

10. Raspberry vegan truffles

What it is:
There's no granulated sugar in this one, but it's sweet enough to satisfy anyone's candy craving. This recipe is also vegan, and free from any artificial ingredients or preservatives. It's a healthier treat option, and the children love these raspberry balls too. Plus, they're so easy to make!
What you will need:

1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut

1 1/4 cups frozen raspberries

1 tbs maple syrup

200g dark chocolate

How to start baking with children:
With the help of your trusty little kitchen helper, add coconut and raspberries with the maple syrup to your food processor. Blend the ingredients until the mixture holds its shape when pressed together. Show your little chef how to roll the mixture into little balls before you place them on a tray lined with baking paper. Freeze them for one hour. In the meantime, the fun part starts: melting the chocolate. Add your chocolate to a bowl and place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, enabling the steam from the water to heat the bowl without touching the chocolate. Once melted, use a toothpick to pick up each frozen ball and dip it into the chocolate, enabling the extra chocolate to drip off. Once they're all done, cool them so that the chocolate can set.

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10 tasty, easy ideas for baking with children | Famly

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Baking with children is a fun way to pass the time at home - plus, everyone gets to share some delicious treats at the end. But baking doesn't have to take all day, or make a big mess. In fact, we've got some recipes that are practically fool-proof, and perfectly safe to bake with the help of young children.

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There has perhaps never been a situation given more towards rumour and conspiracy theory than Covid-19.

The numbers tell the story - with Facebook removing pieces of Covid misinformation by November 2020, and YouTube over half a million by January 2021.

For fact-checking organisations like Full Fact, the coronavirus has given birth to another kind of pandemic of the online misinformation kind.

Their team of fact checkers works with government and organisations to provide impartial and correct information, from expert health advice to vaccinations - when lives are sometimes literally at stake.

"The pandemic has very clearly shown the volume of misinformation that can be out there," Full Fact policy manager Nicola Aitken tells the latest episode of Tech Shock.

"Before the virus had really taken hold, it was a lot of conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus and ideas that Chinese scientists had deliberately created and unleashed the coronavirus.

"It became much more about false cures and treatments - or people asking questions about what was and wasn't allowed.

"We've seen a lot of false claims which are framing [vaccines] as unsafe or untested. This viewpoint is often of people trying to make sense of the really confusing situation that we're in."

"There may already be a certain belief that something is going wrong"

Full Fact has spent much of 2021 working with the government on providing accurate and accessible vaccination information. This, they emphasise, must come in "in simple, plain language that ordinary people can understand".

It has also required their making a distinction between reasonable questions about safety, partly accurate information and deliberate misinformation and hate content. And then, of course, come the conspiracy theories.

"It certainly is disappointing to see a lot of claims that spread hate or try to attack vulnerable or marginalized communities," says Aitken.

"Conspiracy theories [however] often tend to be a kind of anti-establishment narrative. They might be more easily believed by people who are already frustrated, disappointed or angry with the way that the world is being run [or] their social experiences.

"This past year we've seen a lot of people who have criticised the way the government has handled the pandemic.

"There may already be a certain belief that something is going wrong. When a conspiracy theory plays into that belief, it is really difficult."

"We don't know the scale of the problem yet"

Full Fact can be described as a 'downstream' organisation, attempting to correct content that is emerging on social media and news platforms. These, Aitken believes, are not yet sharing information in the way they could. While she says in an ideal world sites like hers "wouldn't exist", she also believes that tools to prevent misinformation at source are still "quite basic".

For now, the task relies on raising awareness and greater collaboration between the 'upstream' organisations and tech firms to provide information and transparency.

"I think having really good partnerships with different organisations, so that we can fact check, is helpful and necessary," she says.

"We found it really difficult to get good information from the NHS, from Public Health England and from other scientists - and that really hindered our ability.

"But I would love to see the internet companies be a bit more collaborative and transparent as well - with the problems that they are seeing and the actions that they're taking to tackle it.

"We just don't know the scale of the problem yet because they're not telling us."

To hear the full discussion, listen to
the new episode of Tech Shock: "True or False?"
You can stream our latest podcast and subscribe on
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and other platforms.
Please subscribe now, rate the podcast (and, hopefully, give it a 5-star review). And keep listening every Monday morning for a new episode of 'Tech Shock - from Parent Zone'.

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On the frontline of the misinformation pandemic

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There has perhaps never been a situation given more towards rumour and conspiracy theory than Covid-19. The numbers tell the story - with Facebook removing pieces of Covid misinformation by November 2020, and YouTube over half a million by January 2021.

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Building resilience

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Help them build positive relationships with their friends and other adults.

Help them learn to be independent in their actions and thoughts.

Encourage them to understand, express and manage their emotions.

Help them build their confidence by taking on challenges and allow them to learn from it even if they do not manage to complete the challenges.

Other ways to build resilience in your child or teen includes:

Setting personal goals and challenges - Encourage them to plan goals and challenges, which help to boost their self-esteem and confidence. Whether they accomplish them or not, it helps them learn about life in a wider sense.

Invest in their self-esteem - Having a strong sense of self can help them build resilience against any forms of adversity in their lives. Encourage them to get to know who they are, what values they hold and help them take time out to work on themselves.

Encourage them to believe in themselves and their abilities - Help them put themselves first when they need to especially if they are in a stressful situation. Help them list all the things they are good at including being kind, helpful and loving and show them why these attributes are so essential in life. Thinking about their achievements no matter how big or small is great for their confidence.

Encourage them to develop a strong offline social network - Help them build a support network of friends and loved ones who love them for who they are. Give them space to spend quality time with their network and do the things they love to do. This will promote happiness and kindness.

Embracing change - Making necessary changes in all areas of life is a constant thing to do. Even if change is hard to do, try to encourage them to do it, as things will and do change. It is better to be in front of it rather than behind.

Learn to problem solve - These are essential skills for all areas of life. Encourage them to learn problem-solving skills as that is key to building resilience. No matter what the situation or issue is, there is always a resolve from it, even if it means walking away from something that no longer serves you.

See the bigger picture - Encourage your child or teen to see the bigger picture when faced with adversity. Share your experiences with them so they can see you understand what they are going through. Let them know that everything has a process and sometimes we have to go through these things to come out the other end stronger.

Mind, body and soul - Helping them look after themselves is crucial. Not only is it important for them to eat healthy and enjoy treats in moderation, but being active is important too for both mind and body. Getting enough sleep and learning positive mindfulness is important barriers and defence structures for stress, trauma and adversity.

Value who they are - Children will only learn to value themselves if those around them first value them. Give them lots of positive encouragement and praise. This will give them the necessary springboard to take on challenges and boost their self-worth.

Emotional flooding - When a child is upset they can't think straight or begin to sort out what they want to do - they are overwhelmed or 'emotionally flooded' If we think of emotions as water, when we are upset the thinking part of the mind becomes flooded. Listening gives our children a chance to express the feelings and gradually come back into a balanced state where they can start to think through the problem or let go of the feelings and move on. When we name their feelings and what they need, we are helping them understand their own feelings and needs rather than being led by them. Children who learn to handle their emotions tend to have better physical and emotional health, do better at school and get on better with friends. Let them know it is ok for them to seek help and support too if they need this.
Bubblevision
Sometimes, stress is inevitable. Help them create a stress-free zone and teach them this. Make yourself comfortable and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and let them out slowly - feel yourself sink more deeply into your seat. Imagine yourself surrounded by a bubble that protects you. Be aware of all the outside things and people that make demands on your life. Now, as you breathe out, feel yourself gently making your bubble bigger, pushing back all these demands. All your worries can wait. Every time you breathe out, make your bubble a bit larger until you feel comfortable. Know that you can step out of the bubble whenever you need to, but for now just relax.

Further support

At Family Lives, we do understand how different each situation is. If you would like further support and advice, call us on 0808 800 2222 or email us at askus@familylives.org.uk. You can talk to us online via our live chat service, which is open, Monday to Friday between 1.30pm and 9pm. You can also use our online forums to talk to other parents and share experiences.
This page was updated on February 2021

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Building resilience in children and teens

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Help them build positive relationships with their friends and other adults. Help them learn to be independent in their actions and thoughts. Encourage them to understand, express and manage their emotions. Help them build their confidence by taking on challenges and allow them to learn from it even if they do not manage to complete the challenges.

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Dolls have been a feature of human cultures for millenia, with the oldest known dolls, made of wood, dating back to 2000BC. These days, fashion dolls are popular choices for children's toys, with Barbie listed as one of the best-selling toys of all time.

However, some of the most popular fashion dolls have impossibly thin bodies, which could never be achieved or maintained in a real-life human being.

Exposure to images of thin women can decrease body satisfaction and increase the belief that thin bodies are "ideal" - known as thin-ideal internalisation. Should we be concerned about the potential effects of ultra-thin dolls on children whose body image is still developing?

In a new study, due to be published in the journal Body Image, my colleagues and I found evidence that ultra-thin dolls, one of the most popular toys of all time, pose a potential risk to young girls' developing body ideals. On top of this, the apparent effects of ultra-thin dolls don't seem easily reversed by play with healthy-weight dolls or other toys -- at least in the short time periods we used in our study.

Late childhood and pre-adolescence are key stages for developing awareness of our own and others' bodies, and during this period, girls begin to demonstrate anti-fat bias, thin-ideal internalisation, and appearance concerns.

Growing up with these influences could have a serious impact on future mental and physical health. Body dissatisfaction and thin-ideal internalisation contribute to the development of eating disorders, depression, and poor exercise and diet.

Read more: One edition of Vogue featuring 'real women' will not solve the problem of body image

Studies investigating the effect of playing with ultra-thin dolls on young girls have produced mixed results. Sometimes they showed girls who played with thin dolls desired thinner body shapes after playtime. Other studies showed no such effect on self-esteem, but that playing with the dolls still caused thin-ideal internalisation.

Playing with ultra-thin dolls may also have socio-cultural implications as well as psychological and physical effects. In one study, girls who played with ultra-thin dolls - regardless of the way the doll was dressed - went on to suggest there were fewer future career opportunities for themselves, compared to girls who played with non-human toys and boys.

The dolls study

Identifying the need for further investigation into this topic, we ran two experiments. The first was to determine the effects of playing with ultra-thin dolls compared to realistic childlike dolls like Dora and Lottie. The second was to determine if the effects of playing with ultra-thin dolls could be reversed, through play with realistic childlike dolls or other toys.

Importantly, our studies involved "baseline testing" - we measured children's body size ideals before as well as after they had played with the dolls. We asked girls to indicate their actual body, their ideal body and their ideal adult body.

Shutterstock/Lutsenko_Oleksandr

In the first experiment, 31 five- to nine-year-old girls played with either ultra-thin or realistic dolls for five minutes. We found the girls with ultra-thin dolls had lower body satisfaction and sigificantly thinner ideal self and ideal adult bodies at the end of the session than at the start. Those with realistic dolls reported higher body satisfaction and no change in their ideal self and ideal adult bodies. This suggests a short period of play with ultra-thin dolls can have an impact on young girl's body ideals and satisfaction.

Can we reverse the effects?

In our second experiment, we wanted to test if playing with realistic dolls or cars could offset the negative effects caused by playing with ultra-thin dolls.

In this experiment, 46 five- to ten-year-old girls completed two three-minute play sessions. In the first, they all played with the ultra-thin dolls. In the second, they either played with ultra-thin dolls again, with realistic childlike dolls or cars with faces.

The results replicated one of the key findings in the first experiment. The girls' ideal self appeared to become significantly thinner after the first play session. But in the second play session there was no significant further change in the ideal self, no matter which toys they girls played with.

This suggests that once a shift in preferences towards a skinnier body has been induced, play with realistic dolls or other toys does not "fix" it in the immediate short term.

Shutterstock/Natalya Mok

My colleagues and I theorise this apparent shift in body preferences could work through several psychological mechanisms. One is through internalising the positive messages that ultra-thin dolls create around their body size. Then there are more "simple" visual exposure effects, where our brains adapt to a new "normal" for body size based on visual experience.

Previous research has found both mechanisms can work in tandem, which suggests ultra-thin dolls can change young girls' body ideals through both the cultural associations and visual exposure effects.

These studies, along with previous research, combine to support the notion that ultra-thin dolls represent a potential risk to girls' developing body image.

Although dolls are not the only source of body ideals girls are exposed to - TV, films, social media, and their parents and peers are also important - reducing their overall exposure to distorted body ideals may be helpful in promoting more positive body image in the longer term.

Caregivers can support girls' body image and help them learn to love their bodies by presenting an example of positive body image themselves, but may also wish to consider what toys and media their children are given.

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Playing with ultra-thin dolls could make girls as young as five want skinnier bodies

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Dolls have been a feature of human cultures for millenia, with the oldest known dolls, made of wood, dating back to 2000BC. These days, fashion dolls are popular choices for children's toys, with Barbie listed as one of the best-selling toys of all time.

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10 Outdoor Activities for Children to Try This Autumn

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10 Outdoor Activities for Children to Try This Autumn

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With the cooler weather and the changing seasons' colours, you can enjoy a treasure trove of outdoor activities for children in the Autumn. There are adventures all around us just waiting to happen, and each activity offers children a host of learning opportunities, like developing observational skills, colour matching, or even being brave with some tree climbing.

The beauty is that none of these activities feel like homework to children - they're fun, engaging, and certain to burn some energy.

Learn more about Famly

Find out below how Famly transformed Coconut Nursery, and see what we can do for you in a personal demo.

Marcus Fogg / About Author

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10 Outdoor Activities for Children to Try This Autumn

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With the cooler weather and the changing seasons' colours, you can enjoy a treasure trove of outdoor activities for children in the Autumn. There are adventures all around us just waiting to happen, and each activity offers children a host of learning opportunities, like developing observational skills, colour matching, or even being brave with some tree climbing.

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Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes - audiobook

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30 ways to occupy your bored teenager in lockdown

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30 ways to occupy your bored teenager in lockdown

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Teenagers are often caricatured as lazy, duvet-loving individuals who enjoy any excuse to stay in a darkened room doing very little to exercise their minds.

But, at the moment, they could be excused for fulfilling that stereotype: with many schools closed and exams cancelled, some will lack the incentive to get up and face the day.

While those in their mid to late teens might be trying to follow the curriculum in preparation for next year's exams, students reaching the end of their qualifications are most likely to need some new kind of stimulus.

An opportunity to develop new skills

In fact, the lockdown may provide the perfect opportunity for older teenagers - caught between the end of school and an uncertain future in employment or higher education - to take on fresh challenges.

Now is the time to learn new skills and pursue existing interests to another level. Quite apart from finding inspiration in self-isolation, it might be useful for them to keep their minds active - and enhance their appeal to admissions officers and future employers.

What are MOOCs?

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been available for almost 10 years and are growing rapidly in popularity as people turn to alternative ways of expanding their horizons in a world of confinement.

Available on a number of platforms, these short courses are all free and provided by the world's leading universities. Their appeal lies in their flexibility and in the variety of subjects on offer.

How they work

MOOCs vary in length from a few hours in total to a weekly commitment of a few hours over several months. Generally, they involve watching video lectures, reading online material and completing brief assessments at the end of each topic. Only rarely do lectures or workshops need to be accessed at a specific time, meaning students can usually start the course at any point and fit it to a timetable of their choice.

There are no entry requirements - so your young person is free to experiment with subjects that pique their interest or deepen existing knowledge. They can just choose a course difficult enough to pose a challenge without leaving them floundering. Sometimes, individual modules can build to a programme that offers credits towards a degree course. Certificates of achievement for completed courses are available for a fee.

The most overwhelming thing is the vast array of courses on offer - so here are some of our favourites, along with a selection of other online opportunities.

Computing

AI for Everyone explores what artificial intelligence (AI) is, its applications and how it is transforming our lives. Students will learn basic AI concepts including machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks as well as discussing ethics, bias, jobs and the impacts on society. This IBM course involves one to two hours a week over two weeks.

Computer Programming for Everyone explores the art of computer programming and what code can do. Your teen can boost their digital skills with the University of Leeds and Institute of Coding over two weeks, with two hours' study per week on such topics as: how programming works in real life and writing basic code.

Design a Feminist Chatbot is for anyone interested in the social implications of technology - or anyone who finds chatbots intensely irritating! In this course, devised by the UAL Creative Computing Institute and Institute of Coding, students learn how to design and prototype a chatbot that doesn't reinforce harmful gender stereotypes. A four-week course involving two hours' work a week.

Video Game Design and Development is an introduction from Abertay University to game programming and could be a young gamer's first step into a multi-billion-dollar industry. In six hours' study spread over two weeks, your teen will get an introduction to the major concepts of game programming, including user input, rendering and collision detection plus a detailed look at core programming concepts such as loops, conditional statements and data storage. Some mathematical understanding needed.

Creative arts

An Introduction to Screenwriting is offered by the University of East Anglia with instructors and recent alumni from their famed course in Creative Writing. Over two weeks, participants learn about character, cinematic story, structure and the role of dialogue through videos, script analysis and practical exercises. Three hours' work a week are needed to kickstart a budding film-maker's career.

Hollywood: History, Industry, Art is a four-week course from the University of Pennsylvania exploring the history of Hollywood, from Edison and the birth of film to the rise of the internet. Students learn about the studio system, how to analyse a film and the impact of global audiences. It will take three to four hours a week to get to grips with this complex industry.

How to Write Your First Song is a practical introduction to the mechanics of song-writing offered by Sheffield University. Over a six-week period, involving three hours' work a week, students will be introduced to established musicians and songwriters.

Modern Fairies brings together leading songwriters, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers and researchers to develop exciting new work, exploring what folklore means to us in the modern world. Five episodes are available as part of Oxford University's podcast series.

Stage and Screen is a collection of podcasts from the BBC looking at artists and works that have defined film, theatre and dance from Beckett to Chaplin, flamenco to hip-hop, Frankenstein to Antigone.

Start Writing Fiction focuses on the central skill of creating characters, with the help of authors such as Louis de Bernières, Alex Garland and Michèle Roberts. Over eight weeks, your young person will learn how to develop their ideas; reflect on their own writing and editing; hear writers talk about their approach to research; and start turning events into plot. Suitable for anyone over the age of 16, this Open University course requires three hours' study a week.

Fashion and photography

Fashion as Design is a seven-week course offered by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), focusing on a selection of garments and accessories from around the world, ranging from kente cloth to jeans to 3D-printed dresses. Through these, students look closely at what we wear, why we wear it, how it's made, and what it means. They hear directly from a range of designers, makers, historians, and others working with clothing every day. Seventeen hours' work required.

Fashion's Future: The Sustainable Development Goals is for anyone interested in fashion, fair trade and international development. Over four weeks, involving three hours' study a week, participants explore how the clothes we wear every day affect the world around us.

Seeing through Photographs is a six-week course looking closely at photographs from MoMA's collection. Your young person will explore what a photograph is and how photography has been used throughout its 180-year history, from artistic expression to a means of documentation. A total of 14 hours' study.

Health and well-being

Managing Mental Health and Stress provides practical support in stressful times. A popular two-week course run by Coventry University, involving three hours' study a week, students look at the connections between mental health issues and work-related stress.

Nutrition and Wellbeing is aimed at anyone interested in the links between food, health and lifestyle - and will help to demystify the complex and conflicting messages we hear today. The University of Aberdeen offers this four-week course, which will take three hours a week.

The Science of Well-Being from Yale University must be the world's most popular MOOC, with nearly 2.5 million people worldwide enrolling since December. Students will find out, over the course of 18 hours, the truth about happiness and ways to change their perspective on life.

History

The First World War: Trauma and Memory is a three-week course offered by the Open University, looking at the physical and mental trauma suffered both on and off the battlefields in World War One. Students will also study how the trauma of war has been depicted in art and literature - and what we've now learned about PTSD. A total of nine hours' study is involved.

Warriors, Rebels and Adventurers is a collection of podcasts from the BBC looking at influential figures throughout history - from the Spartans to Napoleon, Joan of Arc to Amelia Earhart, Lawrence of Arabia to Haile Selassie.

Media

How to Make an Animated Movie is a step-by-step introduction to animation from scriptwriting and storyboarding to modelling and sound design. Perfect for Pixar fans, there are 17 lectures spread over about two hours.

Making Text Animated Short Videos will teach you how to create short viral videos for social media. Your young person can build their social media brand and become a vlogger with this course of 11 micro-lectures over less than an hour.

Science and nature

Exploring our Ocean looks at how our everyday lives are connected to the ocean depths and the ways we can safeguard its future. Participants meet scientists exploring the ocean - from the deepest undersea vents to the chilly waters of the Poles - and learn how the deep ocean is no longer out of reach. For all lovers of the Blue Planet, this four-week course is provided by the University of Southampton and involves three hours' work a week.

Forensic Facial Reconstruction will appeal to all CSI enthusiasts. On this course from The University of Sheffield, students learn alongside the experts who worked to determine the identity of Mr X, after the gruesome discovery of a body in a bag on a Sheffield industrial estate in 2000. They'll spend four hours over two weeks studying the basics of forensic anatomy and its application in police investigations.

Stargazing is a series of short talks and presentations from Oxford University's Physics department. Your young person will find out more about our night sky and the vastness of the universe - from new planets to far-off galaxies - thanks to leading astronomy researchers.

Technology Metals for a Green Future explores how critical raw materials are found and used, and their role in contributing to a more sustainable future. This four-week course from the University of Exeter will appeal to those with an interest in geology, science, economics, politics or geography. Four hours' work per week needed.

World of Spies: Keeping Secrets is specially aimed at 13- to 18-year-olds who enjoy puzzles, want to develop problem-solving skills or find out more about espionage. They'll learn about code-making and -breaking, encryption and logical thinking - and discover whether they'd make a good spy. Developed by Purdue University, this four-week course will involve four hours of work per week.

Social sciences

An Introduction to Psychology from Monash University investigates the history and science of psychology. Students spend six hours a week over a two-week period exploring the origins of psychology, its breakaway from philosophy, the early schools of thought and some of the key individuals who shaped the field.

Dog Emotion and Cognition introduces the exciting new study of dog psychology, what the latest discoveries tell us about how dogs think and feel about us, and how we can use this knowledge to further strengthen our relationship with man's best friend. This eight-week course run by Duke University takes about 12 hours to complete.

Exploring Stone Age Archaeology is a four-week course run by academics and field archaeologists at the University of York. Participants will discover Star Carr - one of the world's most important archaeological sites - and explore what life was like over 10,000 years ago. They'll learn about the use of stone, plants and animals in daily life and evaluate how digital technology and experimental archaeology can be used to investigate the past. This one takes four hours a week.

Football: More Than a Game explores the role of football in the world today, including finances, clubs, nations and rivalries. From street soccer to multi-million -dollar transfers, from the men's game to the women's, from the global to the local, from the beaches of Brazil to the fight against poverty - this course by Edinburgh University looks beyond the pitch, to explore football's role in society and possibly a community near you. Your teen will need to commit to 18 hours of study over six weeks.

Japanese for Beginners is a five-week course from Waseda University that covers basic Japanese expressions. Once your teen has mastered introducing themselves and ordering food, they can move onto Part 2 (a further five weeks), which covers asking directions and explaining travel plans. Each course takes about three to five hours to complete.

Resources
Images: JenkoAtaman, READ MORE Quaranteened: helping teenagers cope with lockdown 14 fantastic YouTube channels for children Where to report and get support during lockdown Юлия, Oleksandr all stock.adobe.com; F abian Grohs, Brooke Lark, Thomas Kelley, Jakob Owens, Humphrey Muleba all Unsplash; Yuting Gao/Pexels

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30 ways to occupy your bored teenager in lockdown

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Teenagers are often caricatured as lazy, duvet-loving individuals who enjoy any excuse to stay in a darkened room doing very little to exercise their minds. But, at the moment, they could be excused for fulfilling that stereotype: with many schools closed and exams cancelled, some will lack the incentive to get up and face the day.

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Lockdown would be even worse without digital technology. At the moment children are constantly on their screens, for school work, fun, and talking to their friends.

Every day, we realise that we need screens more than ever - yet parents continue to worry about screen time. In one recent study, 42% listed screen time as a source of stress.

Should we be extra worried on account of all the extra hours children are spending online in lockdown?

Not all screen time is equal

It's no wonder really that parents worry about screen time, given the amount of contradictory advice on its effects.

Some groups continue to issue blanket warnings against digital devices. The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP), for example, recommends that for children aged six or over "consistent time limits" should be placed on screen usage.

Other experts argue that this is an out-of-touch approach - what you do on a screen is more important than how long you do it for. In the world we live in now, screens are everywhere, and its quality not quantity that counts.

In fact, research by the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University suggests that screens may actually be good for you: children who spend time engaged in "television-based or digital device activities" are likely to demonstrate higher levels of social and emotional wellbeing than others.

The best approach may be to work out why your family is using screens, what they're getting out of them, and what the costs are. Are they missing out on other things? (Perhaps not so much during the coronavirus crisis.) Ask yourself whether screens are having a positive impact on their live during lockdown.

Does age make a difference?

Guidance published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health recommends that families should negotiate screen time with their children based on the individual needs of each child, and the way in which they use their screens.

Parents should trust their instincts when it comes to screen time. Babies and toddlers want and need stimulation of all kinds, and attention from their carers most of all. A bit of shared screen time is fine. Too much is depriving them of other kinds of learning.

For older children, of course, spending all your time doing any one thing isn't very healthy. Certainly, sitting all day is quite bad for us. But if children are using their screens to make contact with their friends, that may well be the most important and valuable thing for them right now.

Parents need to think about the needs of their child and the circumstances. It's not a bad idea to persuade them to take a break - but you shouldn't feel you have to do it just because they're on a screen, regardless of what's actually happening on the screen.

Are there risks?

The type of content your child consumes is far more important than how much time they spend on their screens.

Your child is likely to be learning remotely, keeping in touch with friends on social media and video calls, and using screens for entertainment, whether laughing at a funny meme or watching cat videos on YouTube. All these things are fine. Doing any one of them all the time is less fine. (As our grandparents used to say, 'moderation in all things".)

Inevitably, there are occasional risks.

Your child's screen usage may well have changed in the pandemic, and it's important to keep an open conversation about what they enjoy doing online, plus what content they may have come across.

Some online risks may have been aggravated by the virus. There's quite a lot of fake news about, for example.

It's always a good idea to find out from your child what kind of risks they face, and to talk about what to do if they come across content that troubles them.

Does screen time matter more at certain times of day?

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health suggests that screens should be avoided for an hour before bedtime, in case they disrupt sleep.

That said, it's still important to consider what we're using screens for.

Watching a Star Wars film in the evening is something that the whole family can enjoy. Switching on Star Wars just before school starts is much less helpful.

Does it make a difference what type of device my child is using?

To an extent, yes. A study by Common Sense Media reviewed the usage of different screens, and broke them down into a model of consumption:

Passive consumption: watching TV, reading or listening to music

Interactive consumption: playing games and browsing the internet

Communication: video-chatting and social media

Content creation: using devices to make art or music

This helps us to think about using particular devices.

For instance, putting all handheld screens away an hour before bed, and using that time to watch a show is probably better for your child than scrolling through social media.

Watching TV is more passive. It doesn't generate the same emotions as social media and - in theory - won't keep us awake.

How can I monitor screen time?

Our research into building online resilience suggests that the more children are controlled and monitored, the less likely they are to know how to respond when things go wrong. What's more, monitoring doesn't guarantee that they will be protected from risk.

It's important for your child to think about their own screen time. Help them to establish their own boundaries.

Your may find your child is thoughtful about their own screen habits when they're encouraged to talk about them, rather than turning the issue into a confrontation.

Of course there may be times when you want to set limits on screen time, and both iOS and Android offer ways to do this.

You can access iOS' screen-time settings through its 'Family Sharing' feature (or directly from your child's device under 'Screen Time' in settings), and Android's through 'Family Link'.

Both operating systems allow you to set time limits on apps and provide you with activity reports so you can see how much time your child is spending on their device. Amazon's child-friendly Fire tablets have a similar feature.

There are also ways you can manage your child's screen time through apps directly. TikTok recently introduced its 'Family Safety Mode', which allows you to manage your child's time on the app from your own TikTok account, among other things.

Instagram and Facebook provide an overview into how much time has been spent on its platforms, and both include a 'daily reminder' feature - which sends a notification to your phone once you've reached a set time limit. You can access these features directly from your child's device.

Our parent guides cover parental controls across various platforms - including Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok.
Images: WavebreakmediaMicro/READ MORE Where to report and get support during lockdown Why parenting advice is only helpful when backed up by evidence 14 fantastic YouTube channels for children Brocreative/Rido/Africa Studio all from stock.adobe.com

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Lockdown would be even worse without digital technology. At the moment children are constantly on their screens, for school work, fun, and talking to their friends. Every day, we realise that we need screens more than ever - yet parents continue to worry about screen time.

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Top tips for acknowledging your child's emotions during the coronavirus outbreak 

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Top tips for acknowledging your child's emotions during the coronavirus outbreak 

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Action for Happiness developed this free online program based on a decade of work helping tens of thousands of people put the science of wellbeing into practice. The program is based on the 10 Keys to Happier Living, and is designed to give an uplifting overview of the building blocks to happier living in just 10 days. It can be used in good and bad times to give your happiness boost and remind you of what is important.

Abi is voiced by Isobel Adomakah Young.

She is illustrated and animated by Phoebe and Angie at ARC.

The technology behind our digital coaching is powered by LiveBetter.

Happiness for everyone

Access to health and happiness is unequal across our society and certain groups, including women and BAME communities, often report worse mental health than others. Action for Happiness is committed to offering free and inclusive resources that can be used widely and can help to reach under-represented groups.

The 10 days program is a high-quality, evidence-based, accessible introduction to happiness available free to everyone who speaks English and has access to email, and it is available free by SMS in the UK.

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Free online program to boost your wellbeing

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As part of our Home Grown Skills resources for young people's character development and wellbeing, we have put together some extra ideas to do at home!

Under the current circumstances, your child may feel a bit unsure of what is to come - this is perfectly normal!

Luckily, there are lots of ways to continue developing confidence through fun activities while being at home. Aside from supporting your child's confidence, these activities can also help develop stronger relationships. Below is a list of confidence-building activities that both you and your child can try indoors!

At Yes Futures, we love giving out stars as rewards on our Into the Wild residential weekend. We do this to give praise when a student has completed a goal or task. You could do this at home too! Their achievements can be big or small, but by praising them for overcoming a challenge, you'll help your child to feel proud of themselves.
What you need: Pens, Paper and an empty container
Cut the paper into stars. Write down a few recent achievements that you think they deserve a star for, try 5 to get the jar started! It could be something simple like being kind to another family member, or remembering to wash their breakfast plate up! Whenever they next achieve something, get them to write it down on a star and pop it into the jar.

If your child is having a bad day, or needs a bit of positivity, pick out some slips of paper to brighten their day and remind them of all they've done to feel proud of.

Teaching your child to persevere through difficult challenges can greatly increase their self-confidence. When a child realises that they can achieve anything by taking small steps, they will start to see that they are a unique individual who has control over their future. It's a very uncertain time, particularly for young people and their education. It is therefore important for young people to hold on to future aspirations and do what they can at home to achieve them.

With your child, write a list of future goals. Try and jot down a range of short term and longer term goals, and mark them with different colours. These things can be big or small as long as your child is comfortable with them. It could be learning to play a song on an instrument, running a certain distance, or a future career that they are interested in.

The most important part of this exercise is the ability to break these goals down into smaller, more achievable targets that enable them to reach their long-term goal. When they achieve a goal, or even a step, congratulate them with a Star for their Star Jar!

Time to get CREATIVE!

Teaching your child to see mistakes as learning opportunities instead of failures is an important skill and encourages your child to have a growth mindset.

What you need: Bowls, whisk, flour, milk, eggs, oil, salt & assorted ingredients/toppings available (+a strong stomach!) You can find a recipe here.

Start by making a typical pancake batter . Separate the batter into 5 different bowls. Starting with the first bowl, allow your child to add different ingredients to change the mixture (e.g. add banana, cheese or jam!) Supervise the process to make sure nothing dangerous is ingested, but try not to interfere. Allow your child to experiment even (/especially!) when they add unusual ingredients into the mix. After cooking the first batch of pancakes, ask, "What could you have done differently?" Then, allow your child to modify the recipe and try again with the next bowl.

You never know, your child's recipe could become a new family favourite!

You can use this with any meal recipe to allow your child to see that success doesn't always come after the first attempt!

Be a role model and getting to know a young person

One of the best ways to teach your children is to lead by example. It is important to teach our children that we are all imperfect and realise that our mistakes do not define us. As mentioned before, mistakes are opportunities for growth. A way to know how your child sees themselves is through the 'Getting to Know Yourself' activity.

What you will need: Download our 'getting to know yourself' diagram (either print this or copy onto A4 Paper), pens and A4 paper.

First, each complete the getting to know yourself diagram. By completing this alongside your child, you'll give your child the opportunity to learn something new about you and show that you too have aspirations and interests.

On a separate piece of paper, ask your child to write a list of qualities they have - these can be good or bad. Look at the positive qualities and ask them to change these into "I am" statements like, "I am a hard worker" or "I am a good artist." Each sentence must begin with "I am." Discuss the qualities they've listed which are negative - having an open conversation about anything your child is self-conscious about will enable you to better support your child. Show them that there are ways to improve their qualities - fostering a growth mindset enables your child to recognise that they can change things about themselves if they want to!

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We hope you find this useful! We have a range of free activities to download on our website, including 30-50 minute activity sheets to keep your child busy.

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How do I support my child's confidence whilst at home?

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As part of our Home Grown Skills resources for young people's character development and wellbeing, we have put together some extra ideas to do at home! Under the current circumstances, your child may feel a bit unsure of what is to come - this is perfectly normal!

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Today's blog looks at the launch of StarLine, a new national helpline for parents, and early years funding.

StarLine

Today, 24 April, STAR Academies Trust has launched a new national helpline for parents called StarLine. The service will be a free telephone helpline offering parents and carers personalised advice and support from a team of qualified teachers, education and parenting experts.

The launch of the helpline was covered in the andall noting that the service is supported by the Department for Education and backed by Mumsnet.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

StarLine represents another inspiring example of teachers and education experts working together to share their knowledge, resources and expertise with schools and families across the country.

Following the launch of Oak National Academy, the publication of guidance for parents and a collection of high quality resources, and the Government's commitment to provide laptops and tablets for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people, this is a welcome addition to the support available to help children learn from home.

Early Years

This week the Department for Education announced that councils will be able to move around government funding for free childcare entitlements in exceptional circumstances.

This will support councils to make sure sufficient childcare places are available for vulnerable children and those of critical workers, and builds on existing commitments to continue paying free entitlement funding - worth £3.6 billion a year - to local authorities throughout the coronavirus outbreak.

The Government has provided unprecedented support for childcare businesses in recognition of their vital role in the country's response to this virus, so it is only fair that early years employers do not receive two public funding streams to pay the same staff costs. They will be able to furlough staff and access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in line with the proportion of their salary bill paid for from private income, such as parents' fees.

Nurseries and early years settings can benefit from support including:

a business rates holiday

a £10,000 grant for businesses too small to pay business rates, and

the Coronavirus Job Retention and Self Employment Income Support Schemes.

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New national helpline for parents launched

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Today's blog looks at the launch of StarLine, a new national helpline for parents, and early years funding. StarLine Today, 24 April, STAR Academies Trust has launched a new national helpline for parents called StarLine. The service will be a free ...

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Edited by Katherine Rundell, with contributions from more than 100 children's writers and illustrators

This extraordinary collection of short stories, poems, essays and pictures has contributions from more than 110 children's writers and illustrators, including Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz, Greg James and Chris Smith, Michael Morpurgo, Liz Pichon, Axel Scheffler, Francesca Simon and Jacqueline Wilson.

The collection, published by Bloomsbury, is dedicated to the doctors, nurses, carers, porters, cleaners and everyone working in hospitals.

Read the book

When schools were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in both 2020 and 2021 Bloomsbury generously permitted us to share The Book of Hopes as an ebook freely accessible to schools and families.

As part of our Education Recovery support for schools and children we worked with partners to develop a range of supporting resources, that you can find linked below.

The Book of Hopes is now available as a beautiful hardback gift edition, with 23 never-seen-before stories, poems and illustrations, providing an ongoing wealth of discovery, comfort and inspiration for children.

The Book of Hopes is available to buy from all good book retailers. A donation from the sale of each book will go to NHS Charities Together, in gratitude for the incredible efforts of all those who worked in hospitals over the quarantine period. Learn more and purchase your own copy.

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The Book of Hopes | National Literacy Trust

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Read The Book of Hopes: Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain Children

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A book for young children to explain why we need to stay indoors due to Coronavirus. Written by Dan and Kathryn Allman. Illustrated by Lisa Johnstone.

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Quentin has created a series of brand new, totally free rainbow e-cards for people to send to loved ones they cannot currently visit, to show they are thinking of them at this difficult time. The ten, individual 'Send a Rainbow' e-cards are available to download from today (Monday 20 April 2020) from the 'Fun & Free' section of Quentin's official website

He explains: "It seems like a time when a few straightforward jokes might not come amiss; so that as I know that people have been putting rainbows into their windows to express solidarity, I took the liberty of borrowing them. You will see that I have supposed that they are real and portable, and I hope they are optimistic too. I can imagine myself submitting them to Punch magazine 60 years ago in the hope that I might get onto the colour pages. Perhaps I don't need to add that they have much more meaning for me now than they would have had then."

The images play with rainbows as three-dimensional objects, exploring what you might turn the shape into. In one, a man delivers a rainbow on a trolley, and another uses it as a colourful hairstyle. The images express not only the characters' delight in the rainbow itself, but everyday pleasures: walking on a breezy day, the bond of affection with a dog, the view from a roof, a treat on the table or a cosy place to read.

Interviewed by Nicolette Jones about the drawings in yesterday's Sunday Times newspaper, Quentin further explained that although he hadn't realised the 'rainbow' association with the NHS when he created the drawings, he intends to auction the originals in due course to benefit NHS charities. The e-cards, however, are entirely free to use and send.

The images are also showcasing virtually at House of Illustration in London's King's Cross, and appearing every day this week on the social media channels from Hastings Contemporary in East Sussex. Quentin is a staunch supporter of both of these celebrated arts venues, which, like other museums and galleries, are exploring new ways to engage their visitors with digital content during the coronavirus lockdown.

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Quentin creates 'portable rainbows' as free e-cards

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Quentin has created a series of brand new, totally free rainbow e-cards for people to send to loved ones they cannot currently visit, to show they are thinking of them at this difficult time. The ten, individual 'Send a Rainbow' e-cards are available to download from today (Monda

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With the whole family at home all day, working out what you are going to eat next can be a bit of a challenge. Add to which it can be quite boring for everyone stuck inside.

To help keep everyone upbeat, why not get your children involved in the kitchen? With a selection of both proper meals and sweet treats, there are plenty of recipes to keep everyone busy, happy and well-fed!

Main meals
Ingredients:
red pesto

8 tortilla wraps

320g of mature cheddar

2 red onions

4 red or yellow peppers (not green)

3 courgettes

2 aubergines

Preheat oven to 180°C/356°F

Slice up your veg into chunks and whack them on a tray. Season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast for 30-40 minutes until cooked through and caramelised

Remove veg from the oven

Get a frying pan on the heat and add some oil. Rub it around the pan with some kitchen roll so it is all covered

Place a tortilla on the base. Add a heaped teaspoon of red pesto and spread it out. Grate over a large handful of cheddar and add a large spoon of the roasted veg

Top with more grated cheddar and place another wrap on the top. Cook on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until the bottom layer of cheddar has melted

Flip the quesadilla by placing a plate on top of it and turning the pan over. Slide the quesadilla from the plate and put it back into the pan. Cook for another 4-5 minutes and remove from the heat when all the cheese has melted

Repeat this three more times with your remaining veg and tortillas, carve up your quesadillas and tuck in

Ingredients:
400g ricotta

200g spinach

100g parmesan or vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese

1 bunch of basil

1 bunch of mint

700g peas

250g asparagus

300g lasagne pasta

garlic

1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F

Boil the peas. Mush half of them, keep the other half whole

Boil asparagus for 5 minutes, until al dente

Get a large pan on the heat and add some olive oil. Fry 2 chopped garlic cloves. Once softened, add the spinach and wilt it. Add the mushy and whole peas. Mix everything together

Add the asparagus and a large handful of chopped mint and basil. Add 400g of ricotta and 80g of grated parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, mix everything together and remove the filling from the heat

Get an oven-proof dish. Add a layer of the filling followed by a layer of lasagne sheets. Repeat with more filling, more pasta and top with the remaining filling, a generous grating of the parmesan or vegetarian cheese and a drizzle of olive oil

Place in the oven for 40 minutes

After 40 minutes, the pasta should be cooked and the cheese golden and bubbling. Tuck in and enjoy

Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil

2 onions chopped

2 carrots chopped

2 celery chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

1tsp sugar

4 x 400g chopped tomatoes

Grated cheese to serve

This one comes courtesy of Oprah Winfrey and Jamie Oliver...
Ingredients:
any veg you can get your hands on!

rice or noodles

option to add shrimp, chopped sausage, bacon

soft herbs (basil, oregano)

lemon

a sauce of your choosing (soy, black bean or chilli)
Ingredients:
300g risotto rice - or any other rice you have

1 tbsp oil or butter

2 tbsp white wine, if you have it

750ml stock

200g frozen peas

quarter of a head of lettuce

2 tbsp lemon juice

a pinch of pepper

Grab a wide, shallow-based non-stick saucepan and pop it on the hob. Shake in your rice and add the oil or butter, and turn up the heat to gently toast it at the edges for a minute or two

Add a splash of stock and stir well to stop the rice from sticking and burning. Add a splash more. When it has absorbed, add a splash more, and repeat until the stock is two-thirds empty. When the rice is starting to swell and almost all of the stock is absorbed, splash in the rest, along with the wine and one tablespoon of lemon juice

Add the peas and pepper and stir well. Finely slice the lettuce and set to one side; you will fold this through (gently stir it in) right at the very end (any earlier and you will end up with a soggy rotten mess!)

When the risotto is finished, that is, the rice is soft and sitting in a sticky, creamy liquid, bejewelled with bright green peas and a hint of wine, remove it from the heat. Gently fold in the lettuce to wilt it, dash over the rest of the lemon juice and an extra smattering of pepper, and serve immediately for best results

Ingredients:
2 large onions

6 cloves of garlic

1 pepper - red, orange or yellow work best, but green will do

1 tbsp light cooking oil

Salt and pepper, to season

1 large aubergine

2 courgettes

2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes

2 tsp white vinegar

A pinch of sugar

2 tsp mixed dried herbs
Ingredients:
225g self-raising flour

50g butter at room temp, cut into small pieces

1tsp baking powder

85g of cheddar

150ml milk

1 egg yolk

Heat your oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7

Tip flour into a large bowl with baking powder and a pinch of salt

Add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs

Add the cheese and pour in the milk

Use a knife to bring the dough together - make sure you don't overwork the dough as this will make the scones heavy

Tip the dough onto a work surface and roll out to around 1.5cm thick

Using a cookie cutter cut out roughly 12 scones using the scraps

Place on a lightly floured baking tray

Whisk together a splash of milk and the egg yolk and brush over scones and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown

Leave on a rack to cool

Serve with butter and marmite

Sweet treats
Ingredients:
200g self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

300 milk

knob of butter

150g pack of blueberries (or any other berries/ banana you may have)

Sunflower oil for cooking

honey/ maple syrup to serve
Ingredients:
270g soft light brown sugar

2 eggs

200g peeled bananas, mashed

280g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

140g unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3

Put the sugar and eggs in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat until well incorporated. Beat in the mashed bananas

Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda, cinnamon and ginger to the egg mixture. Mix it thoroughly until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated. Pour in the melted butter and beat until all the ingredients are well mixed

Pour into the prepared loaf tin and smooth over with a palette knife. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour, or until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely

Ingredients:
2 really rather ripe bananas

100g peanut butter

1 tbsp oil (vegetable or sunflower)

2 tsp sugar (10g)

A pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder (4g)

150g oats

A few squares dark chocolate, grated (20g)

Use a little oil to grease your muffin tins and set to one side. Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Mash your bananas into a mixing bowl, and add the peanut butter and oil. Stir vigorously to mash the bananas, blend it all together into a smooth creamy consistency.

Blitz most of the oats in a blender (if you don't have a blender, put them into a freezer bag, tie the top tightly but with no air trapped inside, and bash a lot with a rolling pin or similar weighty object until most of the oats are broken up into little pieces).

Tip the oats, whole and broken, into the mixing bowl. Stir in the baking powder, salt, sugar and chocolate.

Spoon it into the muffin tins, filling each two-thirds of the way full, and pop into the oven for 15-18 minutes, until risen and cooked through.

Then - and this is super-important - leave them in the muffin trays for just over 5 mins to cool and firm up. If you take them out straight away they will crumble in your hand - still edible, just not so muffiny.

Ingredients:
50ml water

3 squares of chocolate

1 heaped tablespoon of peanut butter

150ml milk (for vegans, almond milk is amazing in this, for an extra smooth nutty flavour...)

Pop the water and peanut butter and chocolate together in a small saucepan on a medium heat. Stir well until the chocolate and peanut butter have melted and form a glossy, sticky paste

Add a splash of the milk and stir in, repeat with a bigger splash, and then the rest. Don't just pour it all in at once - it will be hard to get the lumps out!

Pour into your favourite mug, sit, forget about everything else

TIP: You can make this in the microwave too. Just add the peanut butter, chocolate and water to a jug or your mug, and melt for 20 seconds. Remove and stir. Add half the milk, microwave again for 20 seconds, remove and stir. Repeat with the rest of the milk. It won't be as creamy as the saucepan method, but it's still a bloomin' delicious treat.

TIP: I made mine with crunchy peanut butter, as it was all I had in the kitchen, and just ate the crunchy bits from the bottom of the mug when I'd finished. You can always strain them out if you're not that keen!
Ingredients:
175g soft butter

200g light brown soft sugar

100g caster sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 egg

250g plain flour

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g white chocolate chips

100g dark/milk chocolate chips

100g mini chocolate eggs lightly crushed with a rolling pin or chocolate roughly chopped

Heat your oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5

Using a handheld whisk beat the butter, sugars and vanilla together until pale and fluffy

Add the egg and beat again

Tip in the flour, bicarb and mix together using a spatula

Add chocolate and mix again until everything is combined

Scoop golf-ball sized mounds of cookie dough onto baking sheets lined with baking parchment making sure you leave space between each one

Bake for 15-18 minutes until the cookies are golden around the edges but still pale and soft in the middle

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack

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With the whole family at home all day, working out what you are going to eat next can be a bit of a challenge. Add to which it can be quite boring for everyone stuck inside. To help keep everyone upbeat, why not get your children involved in the kitchen?

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The Dove Self-Esteem Project has already reached the lives of millions of children and young people worldwide - but we don't want to stop there.

Our mission is to make body confidence education available to even more people - through resources you can use at home.

The free Uniquely Me Parent's Guide equips parents with the materials they need to teach their children and young people about the importance of a healthy body image, nurture their self-esteem and empower them to reach their full potential.

It includes:

Expert advice

Activities for boosting self-esteem

Action checklists

...and lots more to get this important conversation started.

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Download the &#039;Uniquely Me&#039; Parent Guide

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The Dove Self-Esteem Project has already reached the lives of millions of children and young people worldwide - but we don't want to stop there. Our mission is to make body confidence education available to even more people - through resources you can use at home.

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For separated parents

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If your child is the subject of a Child Arrangements Order (CAO) made by a family court, you may be concerned about your ability to safely meet the requirements of the order during the Coronavirus Crisis.

This practical guide to provides advice and tips to help you co-parent and manage contact arrangements during this unprecedented time.

Practical Tips

All children will be facing disruption to their lives as a result of Coronavirus therefore it is useful to try and maintain a sense of routine (e.g. normal meal and bedtimes) wherever possible. This will help your child feel safe and secure

Provide your child with facts about what has happened, explain what is going on now and give them clear information about how to reduce the risk of being infected using words they can understand depending on their age. Be careful what you say in front of children and avoid exposing them to constant news coverage

Parents should provide each other with accurate information about any suspected or confirmed exposure to the virus and discuss and try to agree on what steps they will take to protect their child from exposure. Both parents should be informed immediately if their child is exhibiting symptoms of the virus

As many court hearings are now taking place remotely and parents are attending court hearing from their home, be extra careful to make sure that your child cannot hear discussions about the court case or any dispute you may have with your child's other parent

Article continues below...

Can my child still travel between households as per the CAO during the Coronavirus Crisis?

Government guidance states that where parents do not live in the same household, children under 18 can be moved between their parent's home.

Should I comply with the CAO during the Coronavirus Crisis?

Parental responsibility for a child who is subject to a CAO made by the Family Court rests with the child's parents and not with the court. This means that any decisions regarding how to keep a child safe during the Coronavirus Crisis are to be made by the parents

Where there is a concern regarding a child's safety during the Coronavirus Crisis parents should try to agree to temporarily vary the contact arrangements set out in the CAO. The agreement should be recorded in writing (e.g. in an e-mail or text message)

If no agreement can be reached and one parent is concerned that complying with the CAO would be against the Public Health England and Public Health Wales advice, then that parent may exercise their parental responsibility and vary the CAO to one that they consider to be safe

If, after the event, the actions of a parent acting on their own in this way are questioned by the other parent in the Family Court, the court is likely to look to see whether each parent acted reasonably and sensibly in the light of the official advice and the 'Stay at Home' rules in place at that time, together with any specific evidence relating to the child or family

Alternative Contact Arrangements

The present public health crisis is an opportunity for parents to work together constructively.

If one parent does not get to spend time with their child in the usual way alternative arrangements should be made for other forms of contact and substitute arrangements should be as generous as possible.

Parents should try to be creative and imaginative.

Alternatives to direct contact include:

Video contact using Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom. This can be used to read a story and play a game together

Parents of older children could consider a watch party - where you gather online to watch a movie or video, commenting and 'reacting' in real time

Children of all ages and older children, in particular, may enjoy making and sharing videos

If video contact is not possible then contact should be maintained by telephone

Finally, parents should also not underestimate the pleasure of a letter or card sent by post. Letters can be sent back and forth with drawings and photos.

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A Practical Guide to Co-Parenting during the COVID-19 Crisis

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If your child is the subject of a Child Arrangements Order (CAO) made by a family court, you may be concerned about your ability to safely meet the requirements of the order during the Coronavirus Crisis. This practical guide to provides advice and tips to help you co-parent and manage contact arrangements during this unprecedented time.

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Hertfordshire Mind Network Young People's Helpline

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Hertfordshire Mind Network Young People's Helpline

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About the service

If you are 10-17 years old and experiencing a dip in your mental health and wellbeing, and would like someone to talk to, you can call our Young People's Helpline.

Our helpline will provide you with emotional support, advice and information and/or a listening ear if you are worried about Coronavirus and how the current measures impact you.

We will offer you sensitive and non-judgmental support from our team of dedicated Young People Advisors and Mentors who will provide you with:

Time and space to talk

Support with problem solving and building coping strategies

Advice and information

Signposting

Onward referral

Concerns might be around missing school and the impact this may have currently, and in the future; boredom and lacking something to look forward to; social isolation and a loss of support networks; and health anxiety.

We are open to support you at the following times:

Opening hours

We are open to support you at the following times:

Mon, Wed and Fri - 13:00 - 16:30

Tues & Thurs - 17:00 - 19:30

Saturday - 10:00 - 13:00

To contact the helpline please call us on 01923 256391

You can find more information about alternative sources of support at:
Just Talk

Latest

Related

Most read

To access our services you can refer yourself, or through a range of agencies including through your GP, Mental Health Services and Social Services.

Hertfordshire Mind Network employs around 80 members of staff and 100+ volunteers throughout the county. Leading this group is a qualified and experienced team who are responsible for looking after the day-to-day operation of the organisation

If you are feeling distressed or have concerns for your wellbeing and need to talk to someone, contact your GP or call any of these numbers.

Marie is a regular member of Watford's 'Meeting Place' - a Hertfordshire Mind Network support group for those with mental ill-health. Read more

Please support Hertfordshire Mind Network to make a real difference to the lives of people experiencing mental ill health in Hertfordshire. Read more
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I have chosen to raise money for this charity as it is the local MIND charity and i would like to help them raise money. Read more
Donate

During these difficult times, traditional fundraising is more challenging than usual. Here are a just a few fundraising ideas that you could do from your home. Read more

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If you are 10-17 years old and experiencing a dip in your mental health and wellbeing, and would like someone to talk to, you can call our Young People's Helpline. Our helpline will provide you with emotional support, advice and information and/or a listening ear if you are worried about Coronavirus and how the current measures impact you.

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Sarah Watkins, (2020, April 15). How to Maintain Good Mental Health As Parents of Young Children During the Pandemic. Psychreg on Parenting. https://www.psychreg.org/parents-pandemic/

165 total views, 3 views today

As a working mum of two, I know how tough parenting can be. A global pandemic adds extra challenges and many parents are also trying to do their job from home. It can be a long, exhausting day with young children, especially without the support of family.

Here are some tips for maintaining good mental health while parenting during this crisis:

Everyone in the family will be experiencing different emotions and children can find it particularly hard to express verbally how they are feeling. They may show anxiety and unhappiness in ways that are challenging. You might experience more clingy behaviour, sleeplessness or aggression.

Take the time you all need to adapt to the changed circumstances. Parent Graham Kelly comments: 'My wife works full time in hospital. I expected my 3-year-old to be understanding of my work needs. That didn't work. I am now loving the extra time with him. We are holding conversations and his language is coming on no end!'

Trying to replicate the school day could cause unnecessary stress for everyone. These are not normal times and children will be sensitive to the general anxiet y and will also be missing their friends. Having children of different ages at home makes teaching more complicated, and it is unlikely that you have access to the resources that teachers have in the classroom.

Headteacher, Joseph Piatczanyn comments: 'It hasn't got to be 'home schooling' to be beneficial. Count things, spot things, tell jokes, set the table, watch a film, read a book and ask questions about it, act out the stories, clean the house together, make a mud kitchen!' Enjoy this opportunity to teach life skills and to learn together.

If you are coping well with no routine at all, then do stick with that. However, some kind of structure suits most families and can help parents to feel more successful. Children will also find a routine reassuring. Have a set time for snacks and meal times, and schedule your daily walk or exercise for a certain time of day. If possible, consider doing some learning in the morning, with the afternoon for free choice.

Again, don't pressure yourself by trying to do longer lessons as they would do at school. Short bursts of learning will work best at this time and using a timer can help to motivate children and reduce frustration. Take advantage of activities such as Joe Wick's daily PE sessions on YouTube.

Physical activity is great for mental health and it can become an important part of your daily structure. Many parents are finding that a structure at weekends is important too. A study published in The Lancet found that people who have an active daytime routine sleep better and consequently have better mental health.

Routine has also been found to reduce oppositional behaviour in children. Ticking things off your daily list will be rewarding for you and your child but remember that it's OK to change your routine or lose it altogether if you need to.

Parent Rachel Hamblin comments: ' I've put too much pressure on myself to get this time "right" for my 3 year old and I've cried lots. But even on the worst days where it's felt like everything has gone badly, I've been able to find one positive thing.'

It's worth celebrating what you have achieved and also reflecting on the things you are grateful for. Professor of Psychology, Robert Emmons, has studied the effects of gratitude on well-being for more than a decade and he has found that the process of writing down things that we are grateful for each day can lead to increased optimism and happiness.

'It doesn't mean that life is perfect,' comments Emmons, 'but gratitude encourages us to identify some amount of goodness in our life.' I was cynical about this, but I have found that forcing myself to do this each day has reduced my anxiety.

At this time, we cannot be physically close to the people who make us happy, but it can ease feelings of isolation and loneliness if we can regularly speak to friends or family. Just be cautious with social media as comparisons can be damaging to mental health.

Spending plenty of time in the garden can reduce stress and anger and improve everyone's mood. If you don't have your own outside space, make the most of your daily exercise walks. Even experiencing the weather in an urban location can improve mental health.

In these difficult times, just recognise that your best is good enough. Don't dwell on mistakes you feel you have made. Remember that you are doing a hard job in very challenging circumstances, with a limited support network. Take it one day at a time and try to enjoy your extra time together as a family.
Sarah Watkins is a Reception Teacher
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How to Maintain Good Mental Health As Parents of Young Children During the Pandemic | Psychreg

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Sarah Watkins, (2020, April 15). How to Maintain Good Mental Health As Parents of Young Children During the Pandemic. Psychreg on Parenting. https://www.psychreg.org/parents-pandemic/ 165 total views, 3 views today As a working mum of two, I know how tough parenting can be.

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Embrace the benefits of yoga together!

Are you caring for your own or someone else's children during lockdown? Whether you are familiar with yoga or it is all new to you, yoga is a great way to introduce something new to your children and encourage the benefits of mindfulness and relaxation. Maudesport has developed a FREE resource that will help you and your children to enjoy yoga practise quickly and easily.

Here are just a few key reasons why yoga is great for both children and adults:

Improves energy levels and vitality

Improves concentration and memory function

Increases flexibility

Helps maintain a healthy weight

Excellent for circulatory health

Enhances muscles strength

Enhances academic performance

Improves self esteem

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Maudesport Education & Leisure Sports Supplies

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Please wait... JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to utilize the functionality of this website. Are you caring for your own or someone else's children during lockdown?

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Contact Info for Stand by Me Bereavement charity

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Contact Info for Stand by Me Bereavement charity

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Eight activities that will help you stay in touch with grandparents – even when you're apart

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Eight activities that will help you stay in touch with grandparents – even when you're apart

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With more and more of us self-isolating, seeing grandparents may suddenly become much harder.

Fortunately, that doesn't mean you can't keep in touch.

We've compiled a list of activities to enjoy with grandparents and other family members who may be living somewhere else.

Video-calling chats and games

Credit: Shutterstock/LightField Studios

Video-chat services such as , Facetime, Zoom and Google Hangouts are a great way to meet up digitally and feel closer to family members.

All these are free and easy to use - and there's plenty you can do during digital meetups aside from exchanging details of your fantastically interesting days shut up in your home. You can play games such as Snap (if both parties have a pack of cards), or Categories; set each other quizzes; teach each other skills, like knitting or baking; or read to each other or start a (kids') virtual book club.
READ MORE: a guide to skype
Family group chats

WhatsApp, the encrypted messaging service, is a great option for families wanting to keep in touch. Each group chat can be set-up by an admin who can add members.

You can, for example, have a family WhatsApp and an extended family WhatsApp with cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and in-laws.

Parents should be aware that Whatsapp has a lower age limit of 16-years-old, due to data-protection legislation. You can, however, set up group chats through text messaging services on both iOS and Android.
READ MORE: a guide to Whatsapp
Gift a gif

Gifs (Graphics Interchange Format) are a fun addition to family group-chats. Gifs, moving image files, are a great way to add a dash of fun to your messages. Lots of them are clips from TV shows.

To send a gif in Whatsapp using iOS, click on the post-it note icon on the right hand side of the text box. This will pull up a search function where you use what is referred to as a 'Giphy keyboard'. Simply click on the magnifying glass icon on the bottom left hand side of the screen to bring up a search bar - feel free to go mad with the cat gifs!

To send a gif using Android, select the emoji icon on the left hand side of the text box. This gives you an option to toggle between emojis and gifs - you will be able to distinguish these by the emoji and gif icons at the bottom of the screen. Like on iOS, there is the same option to search through Giphy if you have a particular keyword in mind.
READ MORE: a guide to memes
Cook up a digital feast

Credit: Shutterstock/Golubovy

Mealtimes can be much more fun if you include a (remote) family cooking session. Everyone can join in using video-messaging (see above), preparing their meal from their own home. BBC Good Food has great recipe ideas, and its family and kids section helps make mealtimes fun and simple for everyone.

You could even turn your digital feasts up a notch by introducing competitions like who can make the best looking bakes or the scrummiest-sounding dinner!

Collaborative music playlists

The music streaming service Spotify offers the opportunity to create collaborative playlists, which can get the whole family involved. The playlist's owner is allowed to decide which users have access, and the username for whoever adds a track is visible. So if Gramps is adding too much Nickelback, the kids will know.

While Apple Music doesn't have the same collaboration function, it does allow you to share your playlists with friends and family members through messaging, email and social media platforms.

Family viewing time

Watch a TV show or film with the family and share your thoughts and reactions on the group chat.

Counting down till the viewing starts, discussing what snacks are being consumed, and debating the plot are all great ways to get everyone involved.
READ MORE: a guide to Amazon Prime and Amazon Video
Get competitive with mobile games

Child-friendly multiplayer mobile games are a fun way to involve family members of all ages and can even include a learning element.

Trivia Crack is a free-to-download quiz game that tests your knowledge and allows you to challenge friends and family around the world. As you answer questions, you unlock virtual characters: it's a great way to improve your general learning.

Words with Friends is a free-to-download word game (Scrabble, basically) to play with friends and family. If you'd rather play traditional scrabble there's also Scrabble GO - and the multiplayer option allows you to express yourself in-game with chat emojis and phrases.

Family pen pals

We can probably all agree that there's nothing more touching than receiving a letter from a loved one. It's almost certainly going to get harder to go outside, even to a postbox, so using emails to write letters can add a more thoughtful touch to digital communication.

For younger family family members, who may not have a mobile, emails are a great option for communicating with grandparents and other remote family members. As many words as you want and can come up with!
READ MORE: Coronavirus: what you need to know 10 ways to safely entertain your child at home

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Eight activities that will help you stay in touch with grandparents - even when you&#039;re apart

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With more and more of us self-isolating, seeing grandparents may suddenly become much harder. Fortunately, that doesn't mean you can't keep in touch. We've compiled a list of activities to enjoy with grandparents and other family members who may be living somewhere else.

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Activities and conversation starters during the coronavirus pandemic

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Activities and conversation starters during the coronavirus pandemic

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The coronavirus pandemic has brought sudden changes in all our lives and routines, and can be an anxious time for you and your family. Spending time doing a positive activity with your child can help reassure them and reduce their anxiety. It's also a great way of providing a space for them to talk through their concerns, without having a "big chat".

Here's a list of activity ideas that you can do with your children while isolating at home.

One: Ready, set... bake

Baking is a great way to have fun together indoors and there are so many bakes to choose from. Keep it simple with fairy cakes, scones, traybakes or energy balls.

Top tip: Take time to sit back and enjoy your bakes together while they're still warm.

Three: Yoga time

Designed around controlled movement and breathing techniques, yoga is an easy one to do together at home. Grab a bit of floor space and give it a go!

Top tip: New to yoga? A quick search on YouTube will bring up lots of beginners' videos you can try from the comfort of your own home.

Four: Crafts

There are so many crafts you can do from home. Depending on what you've got in the house, you could paint a plant pot, make a friendship bracelet, try origami, create a photo collage or make a musical shaker.

Top tip: Pinterest is full of inspiration. Create a board together so you can always find something you want to make.

Nine: Flex those green fingers

Sow some seeds and watch them grow together! Begin with seedlings on the windowsill and watch them propagate before moving them into window pots or even the garden.

Top tip: There's lots of opportunities to chat as you work together with this one. If you're not green fingered, begin with something easy like sunflowers or sweet peas.

Fifteen: Indoor treasure hunt

Hide some things (such as toys, messages or even sections of a story) around the house, create some clues and see if your children can guess where they are!

Sixteen: Listen to a story

For as long as schools are closed, Audible are streaming all their children's and young people's audio books for free. You can listen to hundreds of stories on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet. Go to https://stories.audible.com/start-listen to explore the collection.

Conversation starters

While the activity is underway, try these conversation starters to check in with your child and see how they are feeling.

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Activities and conversation starters during the coronavirus pandemic

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The coronavirus pandemic has brought sudden changes in all our lives and routines, and can be an anxious time for you and your family. Spending time doing a positive activity with your child can help reassure them and reduce their anxiety.

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why clapping for carers feels so strangely uplifting

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why clapping for carers feels so strangely uplifting

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I was immediately worried when I had a call from my mum at just after 8pm on March 26. She has early-stage dementia and lives in a remote village in England with very few neighbours. But instead of panic or worry, I was greeted by an excited voice asking me if I had been outside to cheer for the National Health Service (NHS), the institution for which she worked for more than 40 years.

Despite her poor memory, my mum had somehow remembered that people in the UK had pledged to clap and cheer at 8pm that evening for the tireless health workers treating the rapidly growing number of COVID-19 patients in the country. She had fully expected to be on her own. To her absolute delight and joy, she heard loud whoops and applause from the three houses at the bottom of the hill. She was so uplifted by this moment that she couldn't wait to see if I had felt it too.

Like millions of people across Europe, I had. My London street had come alive - despite lockdown - with people cheering from their doorsteps or pavements, and children's faces appearing at open bedroom windows. For the next few hours, my social media was packed with similar shared stories and a palpable sense of hope, joy, gratitude and solidarity. This left me pondering why this simple communal act had such a significant impact on so many of us?

At a very basic level, this display of appreciation makes us feel good because it is an opportunity to explicitly express our gratitude for the extraordinary efforts that so many of our health workers are making. Being grateful has repeatedly been shown to boost wellbeing and promote prosocial behavior.

These uplifting feelings are further boosted by the brain's unconscious memory system: from a young age, we learn to associate clapping and cheering with positive moments in our life - success, celebration, appreciation and victory. In the same way that the sight of food makes us salivate or the smell of grass evokes a sense of summertime, these sensations automatically elicit positive feelings through the basic process of conditioning.

But the effects we felt last Thursday go beyond learned association and feeling grateful. What many of us found for those few minutes was a much needed sense of human connection and belonging. Social psychologist Stephen Reicher has shown that collective participation, for example at sporting events or in music and religious festivals, enhances our sense of shared social identity, which encourages individuals to support and look out for one another.

As a species, humans have survived because they work in groups, so it is natural for us to feel stronger when there is a sense of togetherness. Some have even argued that our capacity to engage in coordinated activities such as singing, dancing and marching may have contributed to our evolutionary success.

There may be some parallels with research on collective musical performance. An increasing number of scientific studies has shown that performing together has many health benefits. For example, singing in choirs and rhythmic music making have both been consistently linked with better social, psychological and physical wellbeing. In fact, neuroscientists have now shown that when individuals perform together, there is evidence that brain activity becomes synchronised.

For me, one striking feature of this celebration for the health service was the sound of other human voices. Neuroscience has shown that the human voice has an important impact, reducing stress hormones and raising levels of the "cuddle hormone" oxytocin. In fact, research shows that a mother's voice can offer similar comfort to giving an actual hug.

During a period when we are so restricted in terms of physical contact with others, maybe it is no surprise that we find comfort in the physical sound of other people cheering - the auditory equivalent of a group hug. It also explains the huge emotional response to stories and videos of people singing from their balconies, as well as musicians performing outside care homes.

From our earliest living moments until our last breath, our most fundamental emotions are expressed and received through variations in rhythm, pitch and timbre. Social isolation is difficult for most of us at the best of times. It contradicts our deep human instinct to congregate socially and work in groups.

From an evolutionary perspective, we are generally safer when we come together, but for now we find ourselves in the unusual position where safety depends on us keeping our distance. What clapping with our neighbours on March 26 did for me, for my mum, and probably for many of you, was to provide a powerful, emotional and physical reminder that that we are part of something bigger and for once it feels as though we are all on the same side.

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Coronavirus: why clapping for carers feels so strangely uplifting

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I was immediately worried when I had a call from my mum at just after 8pm on March 26. She has early-stage dementia and lives in a remote village in England with very few neighbours.

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What to watch on Netflix – for families, kids and adults

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What to watch on Netflix – for families, kids and adults

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With many of us trapped indoors for much of the day right now, streaming TV services are more in demand than ever.

There are dozens to choose between, including Amazon Prime, NowTV, Britbox and the recently launched Disney+, but the original, and arguably still the best, is Netflix.

Whether you're plonking the kids in front of it to buy yourself an hour of work time - and there's no need to feel guilty if you are doing that - or curling up on the sofa with a film once they've gone to bed, it's ideally suited to a week spent in lockdown.

The only problem is that with so much content on offer, it's hard to know where to start. Fortunately, we can help - we've pulled together a list of 40 TV shows and movies that all come recommended by the Parent Zone team.

Films and TV shows for the whole family
More than a dozen Studio Ghibli movies (U and PG)
If you need to do an hour's work, you can leave your kids to find beautiful, wholesome messages in the visually stunning movies created by Japanese film company Studio Ghibli. Our favourite is Spirited Away, a story about a girl called Chihiro who wanders into a magical world full of spirits, ruled by a powerful witch. But if that doesn't tickle your taste buds there are plenty more options on Netflix for your family to choose from - we'd also recommend the brilliant My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. Plus, another seven will be added on 1 April, including the breathtaking Howl's Moving Castle.
Peter Rabbit (PG)
Who doesn't know and love the charming story of Peter Rabbit? Based on the original stories created by Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit faces new competition in his continuous battle for goodies from Mr. McGregor's garden. Featuring a mixture of live action and CGI, this wonderful film doesn't disrespect the original stories as we so often see with remakes - and is a great way for your kids to kill an hour and a half if you're busy.
Shrek One and Shrek Two (U)
The Shrek films offer up the wonderful message that no matter who you are, you deserve a happy ending. They tell the story of the ogre Shrek, played by Mike Myers, who lives in happy solitude until his home is invaded by pestering fairytale characters. He goes on a quest with an annoying, yet affectionate Donkey to rescue a princess from a tower in exchange for his home back - and the story progresses from there. Both films are absolutely deserving of the multiple awards they have won, including an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.
Hotel for Dogs (U)
Despite its measly 5.4 rating on IMDB, Hotel for Dogs tells the wonderfully heartwarming story of 16-year-old Andi and her younger brother Bruce, who turn an abandoned hotel into a refuge for stray dogs. With Andi and Bruce being foster children themselves, the film quietly illustrates the message that everyone deserves a home - and with more dogs on screen than you can shake a stick at, this film is guaranteed to fill any canine lover with warmth and optimism.
Free Rein (U and PG)
Are there any horse fanatics in your family? Look no further than the child-friendly drama Free Rein, which follows 15-year-old American Zoe as she spends her summer on an island off the coast of the UK, visiting her British grandfather. Her summer is anything but drama free as she creates a bond with a mysterious horse called Raven, who is under threat from horse thieves and money-grabbing opportunists at every turn. Plus she also has to deal with the usual teenage turmoil of navigating friendships and developing crushes - something we can all relate to. The show spans three series and has two spin-off films, so it offers plenty of watch time to keep the kids occupied.
Horrible Histories (PG)
Based on the bestselling books by Terry Deary, the Horrible Histories comedic sketches bring historic events to life as they explore multiple eras rich with history. It's a truly superb show that masterfully blends razor-sharp satire with slapstick humour and genuine educational value - all of which makes it ideal for a family telly-watching marathon.
Frozen Planet (PG)
Is there anything more relaxing than settling down to a David Attenborough documentary with a nice cup of tea? The Frozen Planet docuseries (narrated by Sir David, of course), takes us on a journey to the ends of the earth, as we watch only the hardiest of animals tough it out, survive and thrive in the coldest regions of our planet.
Samurai Gourmet (PG)
In this comedic miniseries, 60-year-old retiree Takeshi Kasumi finds a new meaning to life as he explores the food of his neighborhood. Aided by a fantasy companion who encourages him to embrace this new chapter with boldness and enthusiasm, this heartfelt comedy will not fail to cheer the whole family up if you're feeling a bit low.
Kantaro: the sweet tooth salaryman (PG)
Can you imagine loving desert so much that you're willing to put your job on the line? Well, for magazine sales rep Kantaro, skiving off work to secretly pursue his quest to indulge in the most decadent sweets is a normal part of his nine-to-five routine. This bizarrely brilliant live-action comedy is unique in its execution, as the people who serve Kantaro genuinely work in those cafés, mixing fiction with fact all in one.

For your older children
Death in Paradise (12+)
In this "so bad it's good" crime series, we follow the life of a detective inspector as he finds himself transferred to the murder-prone fictional island of St Marie in the Caribbean. Spanning nine series (with S1-6 on Netflix), Death in Paradise gives you all the holiday feels while somehow making its frequent and unrealistic murders humorous in their nature. It's up to the DI and his team to solve each murder in record time, so get your detective caps on and see if you can catch the killer before the end of each episode.
Dr Who (12+)
This TV show needs no introduction as its dramatic sci-fi plots have graced our screens intermittently since the 1960s. Taken off air in 1989, the show returned in 2005 and has been a roaring success ever since. We follow the somewhat unconventional life of a timelord from a distant planet - who goes by the name 'The Doctor' - as they find themselves tasked with saving the Earth from ending on a (usually) daily basis. If you have older children who love the supernatural, this show is for them.
Blackadder (15+)
In this 1980s British sitcom, we explore the world of the same characters in different historical periods. The sarcastic and hilariously witty 'Blackadder' and his dysfunctional, gullible companion Baldwick navigate the eras between 1485 and 1917, never far from complete comedic catastrophe. So grab a cup of tea and be prepared, as we can guarantee your sides will hurt from laughter at this brilliant British comedy.
Chef's Table (15+)
This docuseries is so good it was nominated for an Emmy - and you can see why. The show takes you on a journey to connect with culinary masters around the world who have made it their mission to redefine what makes food 'gourmet'. It's beautifully made, and tells us fascinating stories about people and their relationship to food. An uplifting watch on a rainy Sunday.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (15+)
A great watch for older teens, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a black comedy that follows a group of misfit friends who run an Irish bar, 'Paddy's Pub,' in South Philly. 'The Gang' are unethical, dishonest and narcissistic and spend their time doing appalling things to cause each other and other people mental, physical and emotional pain.
The Haunting of Hill House (15+)
Flashing between past and present, The Haunting of Hill House is a supernatural horror drama following a group of siblings who grew up in what would become one of the most famous haunted houses in the country. Forced back to Hill House after a tragic event, the now grown-up siblings are forced to confront the ghosts that haunted their childhood. Great if you and your older family are into horror.
Dark (German speaking) (15+)
In this mind-bending, supernatural drama, the disappearance of two young children exposes a remote German town's sinful past and a deep connection between four families who all have hidden secrets. It's like a particularly bleak version of Stranger Things, so if your (older) children love that, they'll most likely enjoy this too. Speaking of which...
Stranger Things (15+)
One of the best 'Netflix Originals', Stranger Things is an unmissable sci-fi series which follows four schoolmates who stumble across - and into - a seriously spooky mystery. It's a beautifully made show which harks back to Steven Spielberg's glory days; there are hints of everything from E.T to Indiana Jones and from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to The Goonies and its 1980s setting is impeccably observed.
Better call Saul (15+)
In this award-winning prequel to Breaking Bad, ex-con artist Jimmy McGill reinvents himself as a small-time attorney. The spin-off is set six years before the events of Breaking Bad, and follows the central character's transformation into Saul Goodman, criminal for hire. A bleakly funny series that many see as a worthy companion to the original show.
Making a Murderer (15+)
A true-crime documentary, Making A Murderer tells the story of the case of Steven Avery, who was charged and convicted with murder only a few years after being released from prison following a previous wrongful conviction. The twists and turns in the story are worthy of any Hollywood script and it's sure to spark plenty of thoughtful debate about the US justice system.
Tiger King (15+)
At first sight, Tiger King - the show everyone is talking about, which has been described as bringing nations together during Coronavirus - seems to be simply a documentary about a guy who owns a lot of big cats. But it's about so much more. Funny and horrifying, with a plot that comes at you at the speed of an attacking tiger, it's also about some profoundly eccentric people, attempted murder, botched presidential election campaigns and terrible country music. Over seven episodes, Tiger King is a rollercoaster of a docuseries chronicling the rise and fall of the big cat world's most eccentric character, Joe Exotic.
The Staircase (15+)
Another true-crime offering, The Staircase is a French miniseries that follows the trial and conviction of crime author Michael Peterson, who found himself accused of murdering his wife Kathleen following a call he made to the police claiming she had fallen down the stairs.
The Pharmacist (15+)
Fancy another true-crime show? The Pharmacist sees Danny Schneider recount the great lengths he went to to identify his son's killer from a drug-related shooting, which would eventually lead to his gathering of evidence against the notorious doctor behind America's opioid epidemic. A harrowing insight into the illegal 'pill mill' business and how it can tear families apart.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (15+)
At the other end of the scale from all that true-crime fare, this light-hearted comedy explores the life of Kimmy Schmidt following her rescue from a doomsday cult. Kimmy moves to New York to take back her life, and tries to make sense of a world that's changed a lot in 15 years. Created by the genius that is Tina Fey, the show has been nominated for more than 18 Emmy Awards.
Designated Survivor (15+)
A political drama at its core, Designated Survivor compels you to imagine what life would be like if you were forced to step into the shoes of the President of the United States of America. The (often fairly outlandish) plot follows the story of Tom Kirkman, who, following a catastrophic attack on the night of the State of the Union address, finds himself thrown into the Oval Office and left to unite his country. A great after-dinner watch if you have older kids to entertain.
Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories (15+)
In this Japanese anthology TV series, customers of a humdrum diner in Tokyo find intense connections with each other based on a shared love of an individual dish. Cooking up recipes that look delicious enough to get even the fussiest foodie's stomach rumbling, these beautiful stories illustrate the power of human connection and how a shared love of food can go a long way. It's also a great watch for older kids, providing they don't mind sharing the frustration of being unable to reach into the screen and grab the amazing looking food this TV show tortures us with. Worth its awarded 8.4 stars on IMDB.
Friday Night Dinner (15+)
In this quintessential British sitcom, dinner time is anything but normal for the outlandish Goodmans. Whether it's the delivery of a schmoigle (that's a basket full of green fruit), locking grandma in a car boot full of yoghurts or hiding a frozen fox from mum, this eccentric Jewish family is never far from complete disaster. Oh, and the dad's the weirdest man you'll ever meet - until you bump into their neighbor, Jim.
Derry Girls (MATURE)
Described as the Northern Irish version of The Inbetweeners, this British sitcom follows the shenanigans of four Irish girls and one English boy as they navigate teenage life through the turbulent Troubles of the 1990s. While the show is brilliantly humorous in its nature, it doesn't fail to highlight the devastation that gripped Northern Ireland in the '90s and how ordinary families were forced to continue day-to-day life despite the constant threat of a civil war.
Netflix Explained (12, 15 and 18+ depending)
Netflix Explained does exactly what it says on the tin: it explains stuff. Giving you straightforward answers to the big questions that occupy our minds, you'll finish each episode feeling either enlightened... or unsettled. Our favourite episodes are billionaires, cults and political correctness - but there are plenty more topics this show covers. Make sure you check the age rating, though, as they can massively vary by subject.
Mad Men (15+)
With 91 episodes spread over seven seasons, Mad Men would certainly eat up a few of those quarantine days: watched back-to-back, it would last for around 70 hours. And what hours they'd be - because it's undoubtedly one of the greatest ever TV dramas. A masterclass in characterisation, it traces the lives and loves of the staff at a Madison Avenue advertising firm through the turbulent 1960s, taking in everything from gender inequalities to the civil rights movement along the way. Seriously, just watch it.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (15+)
The fact that it's based on the novel by Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams should be all the reason you need to give this madcap fun-fest a whirl. Samuel Barnett is outstanding as the titular detective who solves crimes by just letting life happen to him and Elijah Wood provides solid support as his frequently bewildered sidekick. It's a riot of colour, comedy and craziness, though the high body count and lashings of gore mean it's not suitable for most kids; it's rated a 15, and with good reason.
Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge/I'm Alan Partridge s1 and s2 (12+ and 15+)
It's testament to the razor-sharp writing team behind the various Alan Partridge series that it's barely dated in the 26 years since Knowing Me, Knowing You... first aired. Then again, it's not like the concept of a hopelessly-out-of-his-depth TV host is any less relevant now than it was then. Partridge - impeccably played by Steve Coogan - is simply one of the greatest comic creations in British history and is guaranteed to lighten the mood.
Sherlock (15+)
Purists might baulk at the liberties taken with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's books, but there's no denying that Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' 21st century update is a work of genius in its own right - albeit one that's sometimes a little too clever for its own good. The plots are fast moving, the characters well drawn and the dialogue frequently dizzying. You'll need to suspend your disbelief from time to time, but who cares when it's this entertaining? It offers great family-viewing potential too, so long as your children are old enough to cope with some fairly adult themes.
Line of Duty (15+)
This police procedural drama has won rave reviews for its blend of suspenseful plots, sharp writing and powerful acting performances. It follows an anti-corruption unit across four separate cases (one per series, with a fifth available on BBC iPlayer) and packs more twists and turns than the average rollercoaster. True edge-of-the-seat viewing.

For when the kids have gone to bed
Breaking Bad (18+)
Often at the top of lists of best drama series ever, Breaking Bad explores the life of an unassuming chemistry-teacher-turned-drug-lord after a diagnosis of inoperable lung cancer tempts him to make and trade methamphetamine to pay his medical bills and provide for his family. Just your everyday suburban story, then.
People Just Do Nothing (18+)
Want to know what it takes to run an illegal business while juggling hectic family life? The eccentric mockumentary sitcom People Just Do Nothing follows the lives of the quirky staff that make up a West London pirate radio station, Kurupt FM. Awarded a British Academy Television Award for Best Scripted Comedy, People Just Do Nothing represents big dreams and the steps people take to get to the top, even when they're not very good at what they do.
You (18+)
The chilling psychological thriller series You explores the world of "creepy creeper" Jo Goldberg as he seeks out women to obsess over and manipulate. Season two is widely regarded to be better than season one: both explore hidden abuse in apparently perfect relationships.
Altered Carbon (18+)
In this cyberpunk web television series, we visit a future dystopia where humans can digitally store their consciousness in a robot. The show follows the story of a prisoner who returns to life in a new body, but must solve a perplexing murder in order to win his freedom.
Inside no.9 (18+)
It's no overstatement to suggest that Inside no.9 might be the most innovative show currently on television. Written by award-winning writers Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith of The League of Gentlemen fame, this twistedly funny show features a different story each episode, with their only connection being that all of them take place behind a door marked 'no.9'. That gives it plenty of scope for creativity, with episodes exploring everything from an exceedingly awkward game of sardines at an engagement party, to a one-night baby-sitting job from hell to an appointment with a crossword wizard. It's brilliantly unhinged, brilliantly acted and just plain brilliant.
Black Mirror (18+)
Now so well established in popular culture that "like an episode of Black Mirror" has become a catch-all term for dystopian tech, this collection of standalone mini-films all share a preoccupation with the profound effect technology can have on society and individuals. Some are set in the present, some in the not-too-distant future, but all will get you thinking - and maybe you'll look at your phone in a slightly different light afterwards. The innovative Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is always well worth checking out; somewhere between a film and a game, it's a choose-you-own-adventure-style affair with multiple endings.
Mindhunter (18+)
This slick series is based on the 1996 book Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, but is much more gripping than that might sound - hardly a surprise, given that much of it is directed by David 'Fight Club' Fincher. This dark thriller follows a team of FBI agents who are researching the criminal mind and what drives a person to kill. It's based on real events, and even reenacts chilling interviews from serial killers such as Charles Manson.
Salt Fat Acid Heat (PG)
In this documentary, master the four elements of Salt, Fat, Acid and Heat as renowned chef Samin Nosrat takes us on a journey across Italy, Japan and Mexico before returning to Berkeley's Chez Panisse - where she started her culinary career - in order to define what makes food delicious and how we can help our cooking come to life.
READ MORE Netflix: everything you need to know about the streaming service 10 ways to safely entertain your children at home Netflix Party - what is it and is it safe for kids?

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What to watch on Netflix - for families, kids and adults

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With many of us trapped indoors for much of the day right now, streaming TV services are more in demand than ever. There are dozens to choose between, including Amazon Prime, NowTV, Britbox and the recently launched Disney+, but the original, and arguably still the best, is Netflix .

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Coronavirus and #fakenews: what should families do?

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Coronavirus and #fakenews: what should families do?

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As much of Western Europe, the US and Asia remain in various degrees of 'lockdown' to slow the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, LSE Professor Sonia Livingstone discusses how families can manage the explosion of misinformation online and help children deal with the challenges of social isolation. Sonia spoke on the same issue on Radio 4's Woman's Hour recently.

Figuring out trustworthy information sites - my starter for ten would be NHS, WHO, PHE. For younger children, Newsround is a good source. Parents could discuss with their children what other sources they themselves trust, and why.

Developing critical judgement. Take a look at the fact-checking sites (e.g. Full Fact). Play BBC iReporter game and check out the new Bitesize Fact or Fake? Teach children to evaluate online sources - does the URL make sense? Do different sources agree on the gist of the story? Remember, if it seems too amazing to be true, it probably isn't. So try to pause before sharing.

Many families are already using digital technologies at home for learning, for pleasurable shared time at home, for connecting with family outside the home - and they really value this.

In mediating their children's digital activities, many parents are making the switch from authoritarian (bans, restrictions, policing) to enabling (discussion, explanation, supporting) strategies.

Parents want support in these efforts - it's time for less criticism from onlookers, more guidance from government, fewer risky services from industry.

This post gives the views of the authors and does not represent the position of the LSE Parenting for a Digital Future blog, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science Note
This text was originally published on the Media@LSE blog and has been re-posted with permission.

Featured image: photo by Anastasia Gep on Pixabay

About the author

Sonia Livingstone

Sonia Livingstone OBE is Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. Taking a comparative, critical and contextual approach, her research examines how the changing conditions of mediation are reshaping everyday practices and possibilities for action. She has published twenty books on media audiences, media literacy and media regulation, with a particular focus on the opportunities and risks of digital media use in the everyday lives of children and young people. See www.sonialivingstone.net

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Coronavirus and #fakenews: what should families do?

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As much of Western Europe, the US and Asia remain in various degrees of 'lockdown' to slow the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, LSE Professor Sonia Livingstone discusses how families can manage the explosion of misinformation online and help children deal with the challenges of social isolation.

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Guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

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Guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

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A new COVID-19 variant is spreading in some parts of England. There may be additional advice for your area. Find out what you need to do.

What you need to know

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having an impact on everybody's lives. Regardless of their age, this will be a challenging time for many children and young people. How a child or young person responds to their individual situation will vary. Some may react immediately, some not at all, while others may show signs of difficulty later on. It is important to recognise that in most cases, these are normal responses to an abnormal situation.

How a child or young person responds to their individual situation may vary in different ways according to their individual characteristics and circumstances. For example, their age, physical or mental health condition, how they deal with stress, previous experiences or pre-existing mental or physical health condition.

During this time, it's important that you support and take care of the mental health of children or young people in your care, as well as your own mental health. There are lots of things you can do, and additional support is available if you need it.

Background

This advice is to help adults with caring responsibilities look after and support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, including those with additional needs and disabilities, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is more information on how to stop the spread of coronavirus available.

Looking after your own mental health

As well as thinking about the children or young people in your care, it is important to take care of your own mental health and wellbeing. This will help you support yourself and those you care about. Children and young people react, in part, to what they see from the adults around them. When parents and carers deal with a situation calmly and confidently, they can provide the best support for children and young people.

Children and young people want to feel assured that their parents and carers can keep them safe. It will not always be possible to provide answers to all the questions that children and young people may ask, or to address all their concerns, so focus on listening and acknowledging their feelings to help them feel supported.

There are some actions you can consider to support a child's or young person's mental health and wellbeing during the pandemic, including:

Look for changes

Children and young people may respond to stress in different ways. Signs may be emotional (for example, they may be upset, distressed, anxious, angry or agitated), behavioural (for example, they may become more clingy, or more withdrawn, or have difficulty concentrating, or they may wet the bed), or physical (for example, they may experience stomach or headaches). Look out for any changes in their behaviour and be aware that these changes may not occur in all contexts (for example they might just happen at school or at home).

Making time to listen

Create a calm safe space where they can communicate how they are feeling without judgement. Some young people may find it easier to talk while you are doing something together, such as playing or exercising in the park, going for a walk, painting or other activities. You can't always know the answer and it is often better to be honest and say 'I don't know' rather than put more pressure on yourself or set unrealistic expectations. Listen to them and acknowledge their concerns.

Remember to let them know you are there to help and give them extra love and attention if they need it. Children and young people who struggle to communicate how they feel may rely on you to interpret their feelings. For further advice you may contact Young Minds Parents Helpline. They also offer Parents Email and Parents Webchat services.

MindEd for families is a free online educational resource about children and young people's mental health designed for all adults, which can support parents and carers through these exceptional circumstances. Young Minds also has a useful resource about 'Starting a conversation with your child'.

Providing clear information about the situation

One of the best ways to achieve this is by talking openly about what is happening and providing honest answers to any questions children have, using words and explanations that they can understand. Explain what is being done to keep them and their loved ones safe, including any actions they can take to help, such as washing their hands regularly.

There are resources available to help you do this, including the Children's Commissioner's Children's Guide to Coronavirus, or the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) have produced a storybook developed by and for children around the world affected by COVID-19.

Make sure you use reliable sources of information such as GOV.UK or the NHS website - incorrect or misleading information can create stress for the child or young person you care for.

Being aware of your own reactions

Children and young people often take their emotional cues from the important and trusted adults in their lives. How you respond to the situation is very important. Try to manage your own emotions and remain calm, speak kindly to them, and answer any questions they have honestly.

Support safe ways for children and young people to connect with their friends

Where it isn't possible for them to meet in person, they can connect online or via phone or video calls. Advice for parents and carers on helping children to stay safe online during the COVID-19 pandemic is available.

Creating a new routine

Changes to our lives caused by the pandemic might impact on routines. Routine gives children and young people an increased feeling of safety in the context of uncertainty, so if your routine has changed, think about how to develop some regularity where possible. Some ideas might include:

make a plan for the day or week that includes time for learning, free time (including play, creativity or hobbies) and relaxing. A weekly timetable that can be visualised can be helpful

if children have to stay home from school, ask teachers what you can do to support continued learning at home. The Department for Education has a list of recommended online educational resources for those who are learning at home

add in positive activities that you know the child or young person will enjoy- and discover new ideas for activities to do from home if needed. Encourage maintaining a balance between being online and offline. The Children's Commissioner guide contains some ideas to help fight boredom

children and young people ideally need to be active for 60 minutes a day, which can be more difficult when spending longer periods of time indoors. Plan time outside if you can do so safely or visit Change4Life for ideas for indoor games and activities. Physical activity is good for our physical and mental health

good sleep is important for mental and physical health, so try to keep to existing bedtime and morning routines. The NHS provides healthy sleep tips for children

try giving children and young people healthier alternatives to treats such as sweets or chocolate. See Change4Life for ideas

Like adults, children and young people may become more distressed if they see repeated coverage about the COVID-19 pandemic in the media. Removing their access to the news is also rarely helpful as they are likely to find information from other sources, such as online or through friends. Try to avoid turning the television off or closing web pages when children or young people come into the room. This could make them assume that you are hiding important things from them or could cause them to worry. Instead, consider limiting the amount of exposure children and young people have to media coverage. The British Psychological Society have produced some helpful advice for parents about managing uncertainty.

Young people will also hear things from friends and get information from social media. Talk to them about what is happening and ask them what they have heard. Try to answer their questions honestly but reassure where you can.

How children and young people of different ages may react

All children and young people are different, but there are some common ways in which different age groups may react to a situation like the COVID-19 pandemic. The common reactions to distress will fade over time for most children and young people, though could return if they see or hear reminders of what happened. Understanding these may help you to support your family.

For infants to 2 year olds

Infants may become more easily distressed. They may cry more than usual or want to be held and cuddled more.

For 3 to 6 year olds

Preschool and nursery children may return to behaviours they have outgrown, such as toileting accidents, bed-wetting, or being frightened about being separated from their parents or carers. They may also have tantrums or difficulty sleeping.

For 7 to 10 year olds

Older children may feel sad, angry, or afraid. Peers may share false information but parents or carers can correct the misinformation. Older children may focus on details of the situation and want to talk about it all the time, or not want to talk about it at all. They may have trouble concentrating.

For pre-teens and teenagers

Some pre-teens and teenagers respond to worrying situations by acting out. This could include reckless driving, and alcohol or drug use. Others may become afraid to leave the home and may cut back on how much time they connect with their friends. They can feel overwhelmed by their intense emotions and feel unable to talk about them. Their emotions may lead to increased arguing and even fighting with siblings, parents, carers or other adults. They may have concerns about how the school closures and exam cancellations will affect them.

Advice for groups with additional mental health needs or facing specific issues

Children and young people who are currently accessing mental health services

Children and young people with an existing mental health problem may find changes and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic particularly difficult. The increased stress may lead to a change in their behaviours and their mental health needs. If you are concerned about how to access support if they need to stay at home and self-isolate, consider taking these actions.

Speak to the child's or young person's mental health team

Contact the team to discuss any concerns and check how care will continue to be accessed. Update any safety and care plans as agreed.

Identify how the support the child, young person or family normally receives will be maintained

Ask if appointments normally offered in person, will now be by phone, text or online or a mixture of these. Ask if there is extra support that the health professional can offer if the child or young person needs it, including how to contact the service if you have any concerns between appointments. Talk to the health professional about what plans are in place and how best to communicate these to the child or young person if you, the child or young person need to stay at home and self-isolate.

Plan how you will get the child's or young person's medication

You might be able to order repeat prescriptions by phone or online using an app or website if your doctor's surgery offers this. Ask your pharmacy about getting medication delivered or think about who you could ask to collect it for you. The NHS website has information about getting prescriptions for someone else and checking if you have to pay for prescriptions.

Continue to order repeat prescriptions in your usual timeframe. There is no need to order for a longer duration or larger quantities.

Your general practitioner (GP) might convert a repeat prescription to one that is supplied under the repeat dispensing arrangements. This means you can go back to the pharmacy for a certain number of repeats without having to get a repeat prescription from the practice.

Be careful about buying medication online. You should only buy from registered pharmacies. You can check if a pharmacy is registered on the General Pharmaceutical Council website.

You might also want to make arrangements for the child or young person if you become unwell or have to isolate - for example, making sure a partner, friend, family member or neighbour is aware of important information including their care plan, medications and emergency numbers.

Talk to the staff about their policies on visiting and access to digital technology and think about how you can stay in contact, particularly if you have to stay at home and self-isolate. Ask the unit if you could participate in a virtual ward round to keep in touch with the child's or young person's mental health team. If the situation in your local area or in the unit changes or, if you need to stay at home and self-isolate this will impact on whether the child or young person can come home on leave. It is important to talk to the child or young person about what might happen so they are fully informed.

Eating disorders

Children and young people with an eating disorder may find aspects of the current situation particularly challenging, for example, reduced availability of specific foods, social isolation and significant changes to routine.

If you or the child or young person are worried about an eating disorder, contact your local community eating disorder team. Most community eating disorder teams support direct access that is not reliant on a referral from your GP. These teams have been set up to offer treatment to those requiring early intervention or more urgent care, so don't wait to seek help.

For children and young people with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), take care about issues that arise if there is:

Reduced availability of specific foods

This may mean the child or young person who is on a limited diet cannot get the foods they eat. Many will go without rather than have something else, but with risk of weight loss or further nutritional deficiency.

Significant changes to the child's or young person's routine

For those with ARFID this can be extremely distressing and challenging to manage. Seek advice on how you can reduce the distress and risk of further reduction of their food intake.

General heightened anxiety

Monitor existing anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behaviours that are associated with distress and how this is interfering with eating.

The eating disorders charity BEAT also provides advice, support and helplines for children, young people and students.

Children and young people with learning disabilities

Children and young people with learning disabilities may find it difficult to understand and remember COVID-19 guidance, rules or restrictions and may feel frustrated by the impact and uncertainty. They may also need more support or adapted explanations about the pandemic.

A good way to help them could be by:

supporting them to make decisions

representing choices visually through written words, pictures, symbol systems or objects, if helpful

supporting them to express their emotions

letting them know they are not alone

While listening, take their feelings seriously and don't judge their emotions. They may feel anxious about big changes, such as the possibility of having to stay at home. Where possible, it can be helpful to explain any upcoming changes to routine and circumstances before they happen and help them to plan and come up with solutions, such as finding a hobby or doing exercises to relax and cope with anxiety.

Resources to support you and the child or young person include:

Autistic children and young people

Autistic children and young people may have found disruption to routines and support during the COVID-19 pandemic particularly difficult, emotionally and socially. Also, if the child or young person becomes unwell with COVID-19, they may struggle to manage the physical experience. You can help to manage these experiences using any strategies that you know work for them, or by seeking further advice and support, as well as talking to the child or young person's education setting.

Autistic children and young people may struggle to recognise the emotions they are feeling and to communicate them to others, for example anxiety or low mood. Be alert for changes in behaviour which may help you to identify their emotional state, for example increased agitation, physical symptoms of anxiety or changes in sleeping and eating.

It is important to be honest when communicating with the child or young person you care for about the changing situation, measures they can take to stay safe, and the symptoms of the virus. Try to avoid giving definitive statements about the future - this is a rapidly developing and changing situation and the child or young person may be more distressed if things change when they were told they would not.

Children and young people with autism often find change more difficult. Let the young person you care for know in the most appropriate way for them if arrangements change so they are prepared. You will know the child or young person best, so consider their own specific needs when deciding when and how to let them know what the new arrangements will be. For example, visual strategies (such as social stories, pictures, timetables or timers) or visiting new places when it is quiet or virtually may help them prepare for any changes.

It is also helpful for children if there is a consistent approach between home and school, so communicating closely with staff at school or college can be supportive. If helpful, ask your health professional for advice.

You should continue to access support of local autism groups online or via phone. The National Autistic Society guidance on managing anxiety might also be helpful. Autistica also provide support and information, including an Autism Helpline.

Children or young people with physical health issues

Where children or young people are managing their health conditions during the pandemic, there may be additional psychological needs to consider. This group of children or young people are at risk of increased disruption, isolation and are at greater risk of mental health difficulties (for example, more intense distress, worry or anger episodes) than their healthy peers.

Support children and young people by listening to their concerns, providing open and honest explanations about the situation, and giving them information about what is being done to protect them.

Guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19 is available. The Council for Disabled Children also has information about the support available to children and young people living with a long-term health condition.

Children and young people who care for others

Some children and young people may have existing caring responsibilities for adults or siblings, and these may have increased or become more challenging during the pandemic. They may be anxious about what will happen if the person they care for becomes unwell, or what will happen if they themselves become unwell and are unable to support the person they care for. Even if they don't currently act as a carer, it is possible that they may become one if they are in a household with one adult.

Plan with the child or young person what will happen if you or the person they care for, or may need to care for, becomes unwell as this will help to reduce anxiety. Include contact details for others who can step in and support them.

Further information about support for young carers is available at Barnardo's Young Carers Support Hub.

Support for students in further or higher education

If the young person you support is a student, life at university or college this year will probably feel very different to what they were expecting. The COVID-19 pandemic may have affected their life and studies and might leave them feeling unsupported and lonely, frustrated, anxious, or stressed. They may be worried about job prospects after finishing their studies, or current financial concerns might be causing stress. The Student Space website contains advice and information to support students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Encourage the young person to regularly communicate with friends and family whether that is via messages, calls or video chats. If the young person is feeling the strain on their mental health and wellbeing, support is available. They can inform their learning provider who can then advise what mental health and wellbeing support is available for students, such as a wellbeing or counselling service, student advice services, or other resources.

For NHS mental health support, students can contact their GP or they can self-refer to talking therapies for anxiety and depression via NHS psychological therapies services (IAPT). These services are free, and therapies can be delivered effectively remotely on-line and on the telephone. Students can access these services anywhere in England regardless of where they are registered with a GP. Students that need help with anxiety or depression can contact their local service.

Experiencing grief or bereavement

Whenever it happens, experiencing the loss of a loved one can be an extremely difficult and challenging time. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, children and young people may not be able to say goodbye in the way they would have wanted to. It may also be harder to connect with their usual support networks.

Grief affects children and young people in different ways depending on their age, their level of understanding, and the changes the death means for their daily life. They often feel waves of powerful emotions such as sadness, guilt, shock and anger, which they may struggle to express. It is very common for their behaviour to change and for them to worry a lot about other people.

It can be challenging to support a child or young person when you are grieving yourself. Listening carefully, answering questions honestly in an age-appropriate way, continuing routines where possible, and providing lots of love and support will help.

The NHS has advice about grief and the support available, and the Childhood Bereavement Network has information and links to national and local support organisations.

Where to get further support

Every Mind Matters provides advice and practical tips for parents and carers on looking after a child's or young person's mental health and self-care advice for young people.

If you're concerned about a child or young person's mental health, you can get free, confidential advice via phone, email or webchat from the Young Minds Parents Helpline.

You can find more information about NHS Children and Young People's Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) and how to access them. You can also look at your local Clinical Commissioning Group website - most services also have their own website with information about access, referrals (including whether you can 'self-refer') and contact details. Try searching in your area for ' CYPMHS' or 'CAMHS' (children and adolescent mental health services, an older term used for some CYPMHS). During the COVID-19 pandemic, services are still there for you, so don't hesitate to ask for help.

Action for Children has lots of tips to help you spot signs of mental health issues in children and provides advice on the action you can take to help.

Barnardo's COVID-19 Support Hub provides information, resources and tools to support children, young people and their families or carers during the pandemic.

You can get Psychological First Aid training on how to support children and young people's mental health during emergencies like COVID-19 and crisis situations. This course has been developed by Public Health England and is for anyone who provides care for, or works with, children and young people, including parents and caregivers. No previous qualifications are required to enrol. The course is free to complete, but has an option to buy a certificate once you have completed the course. You do not need to buy this certificate to complete the course modules.

Any professional that works with children and young people should also be able to help you get support. You could talk to a teacher, school nurse, social worker or GP.

Where to get urgent help

If a child or young person needs urgent medical help, then call 999 or take them to the nearest Accident & Emergency (A&E). This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk. A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a physical health emergency.

If a child or young person needs urgent mental health support or advice, visit the NHS urgent mental health page to find services in your area, including 24/7 mental health crisis support.

If a child is currently being supported by Children and Young People's Mental Health Services (sometimes known as CAMHS), Paediatric Services or Children's Social Care then talk to them if you are worried about the child.

If you are not sure what to do, you can contact your GP for advice or check NHS 111 online.

Helplines and websites for children and young people

If a child or young person would like further information or advice on their mental health or difficulties they are experiencing, they could try one of the following websites or organisations:

Shout 85258 provides free, confidential, 24/7 text message support in the UK for anyone who is struggling to cope. They can help with issues including suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, abuse, self-harm, relationship problems and bullying:

text 'Shout' to 85258 to speak to a trained volunteer who will listen and work with you to solve problems

Papyrus provides confidential support and advice to young people struggling with thoughts of suicide, and anyone worried about a young person:

ChildLine provides a confidential helpline for any child with a problem. It comforts, advises and protects. You can:

The Mix provides a free confidential helpline and online service that aims to find young people the best help, whatever the problem. You can:

Every Mind Matters includes advice for young people on how to look after their mental health and wellbeing and deal with the issues that matter to them.

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[Withdrawn] [Withdrawn] Guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

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A new COVID-19 variant is spreading in some parts of England. There may be additional advice for your area. Find out what you need to do. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having an impact on everybody's lives. Regardless of their age, this will be a challenging time for many children and young people.

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In the news
Everyone in the UK has been ordered to stay at home. This means that you can't:

go out, unless it's to shop for things like food, medicine and toilet paper

meet up with friends or with family you don't live with.

You can still go out to exercise once a day, even if it's for a short walk.

Keep in touch with friends online, and talk to people at home. Talking about what's happening can help to remind you that you're not alone. Remember that you can still talk to Childline.

It can be great to relax for a few days, but after a while it can have a big effect on your mood. Keep setting an alarm and try to go to bed when you normally would. Plan activities so you know what you're doing during the day.

Being stuck at home can be boring and stressful sometimes, especially if you don't get on with your family. Staying busy with things like schoolwork or hobbies can help you cope.

It can be upsetting when you've had to leave school suddenly, especially if it's your last year there. But there are lots of ways keep in touch with your friends or say goodbye to people.

It can be tough when you're used to having support from a school counsellor. If you can try to talk to an adult you trust like your parents or carers if things are getting hard. Remember, you can always get support on the message boards or from Childline.

It's easy to get bored when you're stuck at home, so why not try learning a new skill. From practicing juggling to teaching yourself origami, the possibilities are endless. If you're not sure, try asking for inspiration on the message boards.

Whether you're worried about people getting ill, what's going to happen in your exams or what will happen with the coronavirus, it's important to ask an adult you trust about what you can do.

Whatever you're feeling, it's better out than in! Create an account and let your feelings out in the mood journal, or get creative and make something using the Art box.

Experts all over the world are working on ways to stop the spread of coronavirus. But there are things we can all do to help:

wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds

cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, and wash your hands as soon as you can afterwards

avoid hugging or touching other people

try to stay at least 2 metres away from people you see outside or in public places

talk to an adult you trust if you have questions.

Schools in the UK have all closed. Even though you're off school, it's important to avoid meeting up in large groups or going to crowded places. Meeting like that can make it easier for the virus to be passed on.

You can find out more about how to stop coronavirus spreading on the NHS website.

It's natural to be worried about what's happening in the world. You might be worried about older or more vulnerable people you know getting ill, or about your school closing and how it'll affect your exams. Everyone is different and will react in different ways, but it's important to try not to panic.

If the coronavirus or feeling worried about what's happening is making it hard for you to cope then there are things you can do:

use the Calm Zone to find games or tools that help you relax

take a break from watching or reading the news to do something you enjoy

ask an adult you trust about what's happening if you're unsure or worried

do things every day to take care of yourself, especially if your routine changes.

It can be hard to know how often you should wash your hands, especially if you have OCD or you're struggling with your mental health. If you're struggling, it's important to get help by talking to an adult you trust.

There's a lot of information online about Coronavirus, and you might hear different things from people you know. But not everything you hear or read about will be true.

There are some simple things you can do help make sure you're getting the right information:

learn how to spot fake news or information that might not be true

read information from websites you know and trust, like Newsround or the NHS

if you're not sure about something you've seen or heard, ask a teacher or another adult you trust.

Schools in the UK have closed and exams have been cancelled. For some of you this might feel like a relief, but for others you might be worried about what will happen to your grades. You might also be upset about not getting to say goodbye.

However you're feeling, we've got advice to make things easier and how to stay in touch with your friends during lockdown.

Feeling unsafe at home
There might also be times when staying at home will make you feel unsafe. Whatever's happening, we're here to support you.

A safety plan can help you know what to do if you feel unsafe at home. It can help to make one if you're worried about being hurt or if you think something might go wrong. A safety plan includes all of the information you'll need in an emergency.

It's important to talk to someone you trust or to Childline when you're making a safety plan.

Your plan could include:

who to call - this could be an adult you trust, Childline or the police

safe places you can stay if you have to leave home and how you'll a plan on how to get there if you need to travel

things you'll need in an emergency, like medication or a phone charger

what to do if you're caring for someone else or if they need support.

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In the news Everyone in the UK has been ordered to stay at home. This means that you can't: go out, unless it's to shop for things like food, medicine and toilet paper meet up with friends or with family you don't live with.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice and support for parents and carers

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice and support for parents and carers

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice and support for parents and carers

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Here is why you might be feeling tired while on lockdown

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Here is why you might be feeling tired while on lockdown

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Change can be tiring and readjusting after such upheaval takes time. Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock

A lot of people have been posting on social media saying they have been feeling tired earlier than usual while on lockdown. Normally able to stay up into the small hours, they are hitting the pillow at 10 o'clock now. Many are wondering how this can be when we are all doing less.

The feelings of fatigue that you are experiencing are more likely to be related to the mental workload associated with COVID-19 rather than the physical burden. Fatigue can have both physical and non-physical causes. After we have completed a 5km run we deserve a rest, or after an illness we can feel run down and tired for a few weeks.

But research has also shown that tiredness can be caused by psychological states, such as stress and anxiety. In the current situation, it could even be the monotony of the situation that causes us to feel tired. Therefore, dealing with the psychological strain associated with Coronavirus could be wearing us out. So how do we go about getting our energy back?

The phases of adjustment

When we look at major changes, such as students starting university or people moving to a new country, a period of adaptation and transition is needed. This takes time and comes in phases.

The first week of adapting involves disengaging from former ways of living and working, and establishing new interactions. These are usually achieved by the fourth or fifth day, after which life begins to become more settled and predictable.

Peshkova/Shutterstock

People in the first few weeks of lockdown may feel low and could be tearful. This is a normal adaptation stage. Please don't worry too much but be reassured that this will pass for most people and next week you will feel better. Transition to a new environment can be helped by writing a reflective journal. It can be helpful to note down your thoughts and feelings. You can then review your progress and see how you adjust.

Full functional adaptation to a new way of life will happen after about three months. However, there is one period to be aware of that can occur around three weeks after the start, when a person can succumb abruptly to a bout of melancholy and a loss of morale. The worry in this case may be that the lockdown situation has now become permanent. But once this phase has passed these feelings of despondency tend not to return.

Prioritising structure

The next lesson on how to keep your energy up comes from observing people in survival situations. To avoid a drift into a state of apathy and feeling low and unmotivated, it is important to establish a clear structure to your day. Structure allows us to gain some control over our lives. It helps prevent a buildup of "empty" time that could make you very aware of confinement, and cause a growing sense of "drift". This can make people feel withdrawn and apathetic, sleep badly and neglect their personal hygiene.

One extreme case from the survival world shows the benefits of structure when we are suddenly faced with time to fill. In 1915, when Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance became trapped in the Antarctic ice, he imposed strict routines on his crew. He was well aware of a previous expedition ship, the RV Belgica, which had become trapped over winter in the Antarctic ice in 1898. The captain did not establish any routine and as a result the crew suffered from low morale, especially after the death of the ship's cat, Nansen.

Wikimedia

Shackleton insisted on strict meal times and ordered everyone to gather in the officers' mess after dinner to have an enforced period of socialisation. These scheduled activities prevented a social monotony that can occur when a small group of people are confined together for significant periods.

So although it might feel good to have the odd morning lie-in, it is better for your energy levels to set up your day with a clear structure and make time for social activities, even if they need to be undertaken online.

Another non-physical cause of fatigue is anxiety. The pandemic has made people confused and uncertain, and given some a sense of trepidation. All these feelings can lead to poor sleep quality, which in turn can make people more tired and anxious.

To break this cycle, exercise is a useful tool. Going for a walk or doing an online exercise class can make you feel physically tired but in the longer-term it will reduce feelings of fatigue as your sleep quality improves.

Planning ahead and setting goals is now both possible and necessary. Aim for a set future date for release from the lockdown but be prepared to reset that date as necessary. Being optimistic about the future and having things to look forward to can also help reduce anxiety and reduce fatigue.

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Here is why you might be feeling tired while on lockdown

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A lot of people have been posting on social media saying they have been feeling tired earlier than usual while on lockdown. Normally able to stay up into the small hours, they are hitting the pillow at 10 o'clock now. Many are wondering how this can be when we are all doing less.

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Online courses from Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living

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Online courses from Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living

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The Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living

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Choose from over 80 classes a week Yoga, Pilates, Mindfulness, Alexander Technique, T'ai Chi, Meditation, Ballet, Moving Mindfully, Keep Fit, Dance Aerobics and Salsa

We are the leading centre in Hertfordshire for Yoga with 24 classes per week from beginners to advanced. Iyengar Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Gentle Yoga, Yoga Therapy, Yoga for Teens, Ante-Natal Yoga and Post-Natal Yoga & Baby Massage

Our programmes for children include Yoga for Teens, Mindfulness for Child & Parent, Ballet, Tap, Contemporary, Pointe, Modern Jazz and Theatrecraft and Mini YogiMe for parent and child

Our Pilates classes are always popular and not just because we have excellent instructors - it's because Pilates really does work!

Our Clinic provides one-to-one complementary therapy delivered by highly qualified and experienced professionals who offer a wide range of evidence-based interventions

Now run throughout Hertfordshire, Positive Movement is an innovative wellbeing programme for older people and those living with long term conditions

We provide a superb venue for room hire, weddings & events, conferences, meetings, away days etc

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The Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living

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Choose from over 80 classes a week Yoga, Pilates, Mindfulness, Alexander Technique, T'ai Chi, Meditation, Ballet, Moving Mindfully, Keep Fit, Dance Aerobics and Salsa We are the leading centre in Hertfordshire for Yoga with 24 classes per week from beginners to advanced.

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Hertfordshire Mind Network is using Eventbrite to organize 8 upcoming events. Check out Hertfordshire Mind Network's events, learn more, or contact this organizer.

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What to do if you are feeling overwhelmed

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What to do if you are feeling overwhelmed

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Right now, we're all experiencing some of the most significant changes within our lifetimes. As in many organisations across the world, at Yes Futures we've had to adapt to school closures and how we can continue to support young people in this uncertain and challenging time.

This can naturally feel quite overwhelming at times, there are a lot of big questions to answer!
How do we provide the best service for the young people we work with? How can we help schools and teachers? Are we looking after ourselves, families, young ones, neighbours, elderly? Or even how do you eat an elephant? (Bear with us, that last one will become clear later!)
In the spirit of good communication, a core value at Yes Futures, we sat down (virtually of course) to discuss some strategies for recognising, coping with and addressing overwhelm. We really hope you can find something useful within this to support you through this difficult time...

Recognising the signs of overwhelm

Becoming overwhelmed can be a process, and there are often signs, like changes in the way we behave and feel that can help us to recognise that we are starting to feel overwhelmed and help us to act on it early on.

Letting go of overwhelm starts with acknowledging how you feel. Here are some of the signs that you may be overwhelmed:

· You feel anxious.

· Your nerves are shot.

· You constantly feel burdened and heavy

· You experience constant pressure and stress

· You're irritable

· You struggle to focus and have scattered thoughts

· You take things more personally and feel more sensitive than usual.

· You're a lot more critical of yourself than usual

It's important to have awareness about the way you feel. Only then are you to begin to deal with the overwhelm. Too many people unconsciously live in a stressed and overwhelmed state of anxiety. It can start with a simple awareness, "I feel overwhelmed right now."

5 general tips for dealing with overwhelm

1. Practice self-love - It happens to everyone at some point and is not a reflection on how 'strong' or 'weak' you are - the key is how you deal with it.

2. It's ok to prioritise yourself - it's unlikely you're going to do your best work if you aren't feeling your best so it might actually be more effective to step away than to stay stuck in the middle of everything!

3. Take a step back - take some time to reflect in whatever way works for you to find some clarity on what is going to help you.

4. Talk to someone - for some people it is helpful to talk to a colleague, boss or friend. It is not shameful to admit you're overwhelmed and most of the time it can be sorted by sharing your burden even if that is just by talking about it.

5. Find out what works for you - everyone is unique and different but taking the time to find out what helps you may give you a toolbox to use time and time again.

What things do the Yes Futures team do to deal with overwhelm?

Tasks within work:

Set SMART targets so we don't set our targets to high and then struggle to achieve them. Making sure we take the time to think how big is the task and realistically how long will it take?

Block time out of each day for priority tasks and allowing time of meetings, planning and contingencies.

Write down the questions that are worrying you - if they aren't something you can control - cross them off your list.

Take time-out by sitting in a different space like the garden or local park

Outside of work:

Do some exercise - there's plenty of celebrity masterclasses that you can participate in for inspiration.

Take a psychological pause - take a deep breath and reflect on where you're at with what you're doing.

Practice mindfulness - what can you think, hear and feel? We use apps like HeadSpace and Calm.

Take a break and do something you enjoy like light a candle, water your plants, people watch.

Write a weekly/daily and monthly list and keep it in one place then prioritise what do I actually need to achieve today

Rate how much each thing on your list is worrying you and do that thing that is causing you the most stress first to reduce your feeling of overwhelm.

What technique do the Yes Futures team use to prevent overwhelm in the first place?

When starting out the day:

Having a morning process to start the day in a positive way - do some

Establish a work space that's a delight to be in. Light some candles, have plants around, make it comfortable and your space where you can.

Start the day by writing out priorities and establish deadlines to understand the full work picture

Schedule in things that make you happy all the time, not just when you're feeling overwhelmed.

Throughout the day:

Reward yourself with tea/coffee to break the day into chunks, it's important to take breaks to stay motivated.

Taking lunch breaks - no not a lunch break sat at your desk eating while working. An actual break!

Breaking tasks down into bitesize chunks... as one of our colleagues said

"How do you eat an elephant? In little pieces!"

If you're worried about a task break the back of the task by starting it for 20min and then taking a break.

Separate tasks into draining, neutral and energising using letters D,N and E and then mix up draining, neutral and energising tasks to be more productive.

At the end of the day

Review your to do list and CROSS THINGS OFF! So satisfying.

Tidy away your work from the living spaces. Put it in a drawer or cupboard and leave it there until tomorrow.

Clean away the day. Wipe down the surfaces where you've left some biscuit crumbs, freshen up the space and turn it back into your home. Little adaptations to the environment can help put an end to the working day, and begin your evening, whatever that may entail!

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Each week we send out five positive news stories, resources or tips&tricks for you to support your wellbeing and personal development during this time, or for the young people you look after as teachers or parents.

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'How do you eat an elephant' and other tips on dealing with overwhelm

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Right now, we're all experiencing some of the most significant changes within our lifetimes. As in many organisations across the world, at Yes Futures we've had to adapt to school closures and how we can continue to support young people in this uncertain and challenging time.

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Coronavirus: wellbeing activity ideas for families

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Coronavirus: wellbeing activity ideas for families

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The past few months have been challenging, particularly for children and young people. With children now back at school, parents and carers may be looking for activities to try at home with their children after school or at the weekend.

We've pulled together a list of recommended resources for families from some of our trusted partner organisations.

Some of these ideas will help you start conversations with your child, keep them entertained and inspired, and encourage you to enjoy quality time together as a family. All of which are important for your wellbeing.

Please visit our Coronavirus: Updates page for our latest advice and guidance for parents, carers and schools on supporting children and young people's mental health.

News & blogs

A statement from Place2Be on the UK government's new mental health and wellbeing plan

Place2Be welcomes the chance to submit evidence to inform the Government's new 10-year plan to improve mental health.

READ MORE

Schools white paper - a missed opportunity

Our Policy and Public Affairs Manager reflects on the government's recently published white paper on schools.

Read more

A statement from Place2Be on the UK conversion therapy ban

Place2Be responds to the UK government's announcement that it will proceed with a legislative ban on conversion therapy.

READ MORE

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Coronavirus: wellbeing activity ideas for families

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With children now back at school, parents and carers may be looking for activities to try at home with their children after school or at the weekend. We've pulled together a list of recommended resources for families from some of our trusted partner organisations.

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Power of kindness calendar

Find out how children and young people can practise kindness every day during the coronavirus emergency

As the UK faces a global coronavirus pandemic, things can feel a little uncertain and even overwhelming. But, during these difficult times, one thing is clear: small acts of kindness make a big difference.

Across the country, there has been an outpouring of kindness and children and young people can play their role too. By understanding what we can all do to help tackle this virus, they'll gain a sense of stability and resilience.

The power of kindness calendar helps children and young people learn about and carry out kind acts. There are different sets of kindness activities for both primary school children and secondary school students. For younger learners, facilitators and children will think of kind acts they can do during the month and add them to the blank calendar. For example, they could be more helpful at home, write to a relative or think about how they can safely help someone in the community. For older learners the activities can be carried out individually or together as a family.

Learning objectives

By taking part in the power of kindness calendar activities, children and young people will:

learn about the power of kindness

carry out kind acts

consider how they can be kind to themselves and others

Resource overview

1. Power of kindness calendar
Use the blank calendar to record daily acts of kindness. They can use this to look back on all they have achieved.

2. Activities of kindness
Read the supporting guidance for some ideas for different activities and ideas of daily acts of kindness. There are two different documents, one for primary and one for secondary age groups. Ideas include:

learning about kindness

being grateful

ways to cope

kindness in the community

3. My kind acts
The record card helps children and young people decide on five kind acts that they'll each do during the month. They can use this to look back on all they have achieved.

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Free kindness calendar for children and young people

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Power of kindness calendar Find out how children and young people can practise kindness every day during the coronavirus emergency As the UK faces a global coronavirus pandemic, things can feel a little uncertain and even overwhelming. But, during these difficult times, one thing is clear: small acts of kindness make a big difference.

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That's done the trick. Benevolente82/ Shutterstock

You might have noticed your normal sleep pattern has changed. Some of us may be sleeping more, and some of us may be sleeping less. Life has changed dramatically for many of us, with our usual daily routine - including commutes, meal times, and the amount of time we spend outside - being altered because of self isolation.

All of these changes impact our natural circadian rhythm, which is an essential internal "clock" that plays a key role in regulating our sleep pattern. It controls body temperature and hormones in order to make us feel alert during the day and tired at night.

Exposure to natural light and regular meal times are two of the most powerful forces in aligning our circadian rhythms. But for many of us, quarantine has changed the amount of time we spend outside, and we might be eating at different times than normal.

Read more: Here is why you might be feeling tired while on lockdown

While some of us are reconnecting with our natural circadian rhythm, others might have trouble falling asleep, or may be waking up multiple times during the night. This is also a normal experience, as uncertainty can increase stress levels and stress hormones (such as cortisol), which help regulate our sleep-wake cycle. Cortisol normally drops in the evening, reaching its lowest level at midnight. But if levels are too high before bedtime, it could disrupt sleep.

Some of us might also be sleeping more, catching up on lost hours. Many of us have so-called "sleep debt", which is the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep, and may lead to mental and physical fatigue. As we juggle our daily tasks, we often run out of hours in the day to get things done - so many of us choose to sleep less to do more.

Sleep debt (also known as sleep deprivation) is associated with declines in performance, memory and our immunity.

If you are sleeping longer than normal, you may be repaying some of that sleep debt acquired in life. Don't panic here - let your body catch up and erase some of that debt you have subconsciously been carrying around. Sleep loss studies that have allowed recovery sleeps of ten hours have demonstrated a restoration of performance when the participants are awake, suggesting this is a fixable problem.

The solutions

1. Establish a new routine. You may have been furloughed or be working from home for the first time. Routine is very important for the body right now. This will be the starting block for engaging with your natural circadian rhythm - not the one your job normally sets. Start by focusing on your sleep-wake cycle, go to bed when you feel tired and try to wake up without an alarm. You may sleep a little more than normal at the beginning, but within a week or two you will return to your natural duration. Though everyone is different, you should aim for 7-9 hours a night. Not only is routine good for our sleep cycle, it's also beneficial to our mental health.

2. Don't use your bedroom as your office (if possible) When it's time for bed, remove electronic devices and make the room cool, dark and quiet. It's important to associate your bedroom as the place you go to sleep, not the place you work or watch TV. This will help you to relax and prepare for sleep. Electronic devices also emit artificial light that can influence our sleep cycle. Artificial light can trick your circadian clock into thinking daylight has been extended and alter our quality of sleep. If you need electronic devices nearby, place them in night mode.

3. Avoid napping As you try to establish your new routine, it's important to engage with your natural circadian rhythm - and napping could potentially disrupt this at the beginning. However, if your previous night's sleep was poor you may feel more tired after lunch. Short naps - less than 20 minutes - can help to restore cognitive function and may make you feel less sleepy.

4. Only drink caffeine before noon We all respond a little differently to caffeine. Because caffeine is a known stimulant, it could influence our sleep by keeping us awake later. So when trying to fix your sleep pattern, it may be best to limit caffeine intake to earlier in your day.

aanbetta/ Shutterstock

5. Exercise Both aerobic and resistance exercise has been shown to have positive effects on sleep. However, timing is important. It's best to avoid vigorous exercise one hour before bedtime as this may reduce our sleep duration, quality and make it more difficult to fall asleep in the first place.

6. Get outside Exposure to both natural light and dark during this time will help us keep our circadian rhythms in balance, and make us tired.

7. Change your bedtime routine At least an hour before bed stop work, reduce screen time, meditate, or read. These techniques allow us to relax and help our circadian rhythm take control by releasing hormones that will promote sleep and reduce alertness.

Though it's still uncertain what life will look like after quarantine has ended, one thing for certain is that if we look after our sleep pattern during this time, we may leave quarantine feeling less fatigued - and maybe a little more productive.

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Seven tips to get your sleep cycle back on track during lockdown

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You might have noticed your normal sleep pattern has changed. Some of us may be sleeping more, and some of us may be sleeping less. Life has changed dramatically for many of us, with our usual daily routine - including commutes, meal times, and the amount of time we spend outside - being altered because of self isolation.

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Is the sky blue on other planets, like on Earth? What is an atmosphere, and do other planets have one? - Charlie, age 10

G'day Charlie, and thank you so much for your incredibly curious question.

Before I get too excited talking about the atmospheres of other planets, first we have to talk about what an atmosphere actually is.

ESA

The atmosphere is normally the outermost layer of a planet. On rocky worlds like Earth it is usually the lightest and thinnest layer.

The thing that makes an atmosphere an atmosphere is what it's made of. It's not made up of big lumps of rocks or huge swirling oceans; it is made up of gases.

What's in an atmosphere?

Atmospheres can contain a wide variety of gases. Most of Earth's atmosphere is a gas called nitrogen that doesn't really react with anything. There's also a fair bit of oxygen, which is what we need to breathe. There are also two other important gases called argon and carbon dioxide, and tiny amounts of lots of other ones.

The mix of gases is what gives a planet's atmosphere its colour.

Read more: Curious Kids: Why is the sky blue and where does it start?

Earth's atmosphere is made up of gases that tend to bounce blue light in all directions (known as "scattering") but let most other colours of light straight through. This scattered light is what gives Earth's atmosphere its blue colour.

Do other planets have blue atmospheres? Some of them sure do!

Other worlds

The atmospheres of the two ice giants in our solar system, Neptune and Uranus, are both beautiful shades of blue.

However, these atmospheres are a different blue than ours. It's caused by the huge amounts of a gas called methane swirling around.

(Side note: methane is also the main component of farts. That's right, there's a layer of farts on Uranus.)

NASA / JPL-Caltech / Björn Jónsson

Jupiter and Saturn, however, have completely different-coloured atmospheres.

Ice crystals made of a chemical called ammonia in Saturn's upper atmosphere make it a pale shade of yellow.

Uranus' atmosphere also contains some ammonia, which makes the planet a slightly greener shade than the deep blue we see on Neptune.

Jupiter's atmosphere has distinctive brown and orange bands, thanks to gases that may contain the elements phosphorus and sulfur, and possibly even more complicated chemicals called hydrocarbons.**

In some extreme cases, the entire planet might just be a huge atmosphere with no rocky surface at all. Astronomers and planetary scientists like myself are still trying to work out whether Jupiter and Saturn have rocky surfaces, deep down in their atmosphere, or whether they're both simply huge balls of gas.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

However, there are some planets that have no atmosphere at all! The Sun's closest and smallest neighbour, Mercury, is one example. Its surface is exposed to the vastness of space.

Beyond our solar system

So far I've been talking about the atmospheres of planets in our Solar system. But what about planets in other planetary systems, orbiting other stars?

Well, astronomers have been detecting the atmospheres of these planets (which we call "exoplanets") for the past 20 years! It wasn't until last year, however, that astronomers managed to detect the atmosphere of a rocky exoplanet. The planet is called LHS 3844b and it's so far away that the light takes almost 50 years to reach us!

LHS 3844b weighs twice as much as Earth, and we astronomers thought it would have a pretty thick atmosphere. But, to our surprise, it has little to no atmosphere at all! So it might be more like Mercury than Earth.

We still have a lot to learn about far-off planets and discovering one with an Earth-like atmosphere that's ripe for life is still many years away.

Maybe, Charlie, you could be the first astronomer to detect an Earth-like atmosphere on another world!

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Curious Kids: is the sky blue on other planets?

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Is the sky blue on other planets, like on Earth? What is an atmosphere, and do other planets have one? - Charlie, age 10 G'day Charlie, and thank you so much for your incredibly curious question. Before I get too excited talking about the atmospheres of other planets, first we have to talk about what an atmosphere actually is.

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What happened when the asteroids wiped out the dinosaurs?

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What happened when the asteroids wiped out the dinosaurs?

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One June day 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid crashed into the coast of Mexico. The asteroid crash caused what we call the Cretaceous-Palaeogene or K-Pg mass extinction. This killed species around the world. Three-quarters of the animals in the ocean and all of the dinosaurs apart from birds died in this mass extinction.

Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation, which gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.com. We won't be able to answer every question, but we'll do our very best.
Plants and trees survived the mass extinction, one of the largest in the Earth's history. So, we know the effects on plants were less than those on dinosaurs. Still, plants were not left unscathed by the event.

Scientists study fossils to learn about the effects of the K-Pg mass extinction. Fossils from North America tell the story of plant life before, during and after the asteroid impact. These fossils show that the immediate effects of the asteroid were catastrophic. The shockwaves, earthquakes and tsunamis would have killed many plants. Forest fires may have burnt large areas.

NASA

Around half of all plant species went extinct after the asteroid hit Earth. While the immediate effects like tsunamis and shock waves killed some of these species, a great many more would have died as a result of the environmental effects of the asteroid impact.

No sunshine

By smashing into the Earth, the asteroid impact released huge amounts of dust into the atmosphere. This dust blocked the sun's rays from reaching the surface of the Earth and this is bad news for plants. We know the mass extinction occurred in June because flowers in a North American fossilised lily pond were in summer bloom when the asteroid hit. Because sunlight could not reach the Earth, what should have been summer in the northern hemisphere would have been more like a harsh winter. Freezing temperatures can kill plants, particularly those plants that live in water.

As well as freezing temperatures, the lack of sunlight had other effects on plants. With the sunlight blocked, plants would have no means for photosynthesis. This is the process plants use to convert the sun's rays into energy and it is vital for life. With no photosynthesis, many plants species went extinct.

Mark Puttick

When trees and flowering plants were struggling, fern plants dominated the landscape. Ferns prosper in disturbed environments and only need the wind to colonise new areas. Plants with fast life cycles that grow and develop quickly also did well in these difficult times. These plants had the tools to cope with fast changes to their environments, unlike plants such as trees that need stable habitats.

Plants survived better than animals

Compared to animals, plants have an advantage in surviving mass extinctions. Plant seeds can remain dormant for many years in the soil. After the K-Pg mass extinction conditions were not right for plant growth, but plants could wait as seeds in a dormant state until things improve. This probably explains why plants did not suffer as much as animal groups in the extinction. Forests and other plants can regrow from their seeds after resting for decades. Animals can't generally survive in dormant states for decades. Most animal groups took millions of years to recover from the mass extinction. Plants recovered fast.

Mark Puttick

The K-Pg 66 million years ago changed the course of the evolution of animals. As many species died, there were fewer animals competing against each other for food and other resources. Mammals could now freely use these resources and evolve into many different forms, including humans. The K-Pg mass extinction did not change the course of plant evolution. Flowers and all groups of plants lived through the extinction. The mass extinction was traumatic for plants but they survived the hard times. Fortunately for the Earth - and for us - they did not go the same way as the non-bird dinosaurs.
Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation, which gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts. When sending in questions, make sure you include the asker's first name, age and town or city. You can:

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Curious Kids: What effect did the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs have on plants and trees?

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One June day 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid crashed into the coast of Mexico. The asteroid crash caused what we call the Cretaceous-Palaeogene or K-Pg mass extinction. This killed species around the world. Three-quarters of the animals in the ocean and all of the dinosaurs apart from birds died in this mass extinction.

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Why do people speak different languages?

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Why do people speak different languages?

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Humans have long been puzzled by the existence of different languages. A long time ago, people took guesses or made up stories to explain this.

You might know the tale of the Tower of Babel (have a look at a famous painting of it, below). In this story from the Bible, humans originally spoke a single language. But God got angry when these humans tried to build a tower to heaven. This wasn't in God's plan. So he made humans speak different languages and scattered them across the Earth.

Shutterstock

In another story, believed by the Indigenous Absaroka people in the United States, an old coyote created humans. At first, these humans spoke a single language (like in the Babel story), but a younger coyote argued to the old coyote that humans had a talent for warfare. The young coyote convinced the older one to make humans speak different languages. That way, humans could misunderstand one another - this would lead to war and humans could show off their talent!

And in yet another story, in Jawoyn country in the Northern Territory people believe the crocodile Nabilil planted language into the landscape, giving names to land features as he travelled.

There are many, many more stories like these throughout the world!

More recently, we linguists have tried to answer this question. Truthfully, we'll probably never know the origin of language, but we do have a good idea of how different languages appear and change. And, interestingly, there's a little bit of truth in those earlier stories of castles, coyotes and crocodiles.

The tower factor: three magic ingredients

In the Tower of Babel story, God makes humans travel throughout the world. In fact, we know from archaeological digs that humans have been on the move for thousands of years - as long as we've been human!

What you need then to create different languages are three magic ingredients: time, distance and the processes of language change. So when speakers of a single language separate and travel to different places, the single language can become two or more languages over time.

Take the example of Latin. When Latin speakers split up and spread themselves around Europe, their Latin turned into languages like French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. So Latin isn't really dead - it evolved into these modern languages.

Read more: Curious Kids: Why do Aussies have a different accent to Canadians, Americans, British people and New Zealanders?

English was born in the same way. In the fifth century, powerful Germanic tribes (those Angles, Saxons and Jutes) left their European homelands and invaded Britain. The dialects of Germanic they spoke gave rise to Old English - it would sound as foreign to you as modern German does now (for example, urne gedæghwamlican hlaf is Old English for "our daily bread").

The coyote factor: language and identity

The Absaroka coyote story points to how people with different languages might misunderstand or disagree with one another. Language is often connected to our identity. Along with travelling to different places, identity is another thing that can lead to language change or different languages.

For instance, in one village in Papua New Guinea (a country just north of Australia), everyone spoke the same language, Selepet, as people in nearby villages. However, those living in this village decided to change their word for "no". This way, their version in Selepet would be different ( bunge) from the typical Selepet word for no ( bia), and would represent the proud identity of the village.

Read more: Curious Kids: Why does English have so many different spelling rules?

Think closer to home and the rivalry between places like Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, or between the bush and the city. The coyote factor is a major incentive for people everywhere to start highlighting their identity through their language.

So will Australian English eventually break up into separate languages in the way Latin did? Probably not. The thing is, we aren't isolated as people were in earlier times. We chat regularly, face to face, on the phone, via computers, and in many other ways.

The crocodile factor: new words for new places and experiences

The story of Nabilil the crocodile points to how language evolves in close relationship with its environment, and how those who travel assign new labels to the land, animals and experiences they encounter.

We see this with the arrival of English to Australia. English was more than 800 years old by the time it came to be used in Australia. However, English-speaking settlers did not have words to describe Australia. They borrowed words from Indigenous Australian languages ( kangaroo, wombat) or developed new meanings for old words ( magpie, possum; both of these were originally used for different animals in Europe and the US!).

Like people, languages are always on the move, and this is why we have so many of them - more than 300 within Australia alone. One way to avoid the curse of little coyote is to learn some of them!

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Curious Kids: why do people in different countries speak different languages?

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Humans have long been puzzled by the existence of different languages. A long time ago, people took guesses or made up stories to explain this. You might know the tale of the Tower of Babel (have a look at a famous painting of it, below).

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Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.
How do we get the fingerprints we have? - Oscar V., age 8, Somerville, Massachusetts

Fingerprints are those little ridges on the tips of your fingers. They're essentially folds of the outer layer of skin, the epidermis. The "prints" themselves are the patterns of skin oils or dirt these ridges leave behind on a surface you've touched.

Fotosr52/Shutterstock.com

Your fingerprints began to form before you were born. When a fetus starts to grow, the outside layer of its skin is smooth. But after about 10 weeks, a deeper layer of skin, called the basal layer, starts growing faster than the layers above it, which makes it "buckle" and fold. The expanding lower layer ends up scrunched and bunched beneath the outside layer.

These folds eventually cause the surface layers of the skin to fold too, and by the time a fetus is 17 weeks old - about halfway through a pregnancy - its fingerprints are set.

Although this folding process might sound random, the overall size and shape of fingerprints are influenced by the genes you get from your parents. So you probably share some fingerprint patterns with your family members.

But the details of your fingerprints are influenced by many other factors besides genes. For example, the shape and size of the blood vessels in your skin, how fast the different layers of skin are growing, and the chemical environment inside the womb all play a part. No two people end up with exactly the same fingerprints, even identical twins.

It was only in 2015 that a big long-term study showed that fingerprints are stable over a person's lifetime. The ridges of a fingerprint are visible on the skin's surface layer, but the pattern is actually "encoded" below that. Even if you have a major skin injury, your prints will come back when the outer layer heals - though you might have a scar, too.

So your fingerprints are totally unique to you and have been since before you were born. No matter how much you change as you grow up, you'll always have the set you have now, no matter how long you live.

What's a fingerprint's point?

Surprisingly, nobody really knows what fingerprints are for.

People have long thought that fingerprints provide the friction that helps our hands grip objects. This makes sense because the other animals besides human beings that have fingerprints - including many other primates like apes and monkeys, and koalas - are all tree climbers.

But sometimes what makes sense isn't true, and a recent study found that fingerprints don't really help people hold onto things - at least, not things with smooth surfaces.

Other possibilities are that fingerprints improve your sense of touch or help protect your fingers from injury. But scientists don't know for sure yet.

Making use of your prints

Police have been using fingerprints and their unique loop, whorl and arch shapes to help catch criminals for more than 2,000 years, starting in ancient China.

Fingerprints are now used for many other things as well, all based on the fact that each person's fingerprints are different. You can use that unique code to unlock your phone or enter a restricted area, for example. In Malawi, fingerprints have been used to identify farmers who have taken out loans. They can even be taken from babies and used throughout the person's life to access their immunization records.

New Africa/Shutterstock.com

Police forces are still finding new uses for fingerprints, too. As fingerprint detection and study methods have improved, detectives can even use them to see who threw a particular stone. Those little ridges can hide tiny amounts of substances too - which means they could be used to detect the use of illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin. And now forensic scientists can detect decades-old fingerprints, too - maybe allowing detectives to solve really old crimes - with a new technique that uses a color-changing chemical to map the sweat glands within your fingerprints.
Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you'd like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live. And since curiosity has no age limit - adults, let us know what you're wondering, too. We won't be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

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How did I get my own unique set of fingerprints?

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Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. How do we get the fingerprints we have? - Oscar V., age 8, Somerville, Massachusetts Fingerprints are those little ridges on the tips of your fingers.

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Some parts of grownups do not grow. Some parts do grow. And some parts seem to grow but really do not.

Grownups cannot get taller. The bones of their arms, legs, chest and neck lose the ability to get longer. This is because these bones grow at their ends and these growing ends eventually join together which stops growth in height.

Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation that gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.com. We won't be able to answer every question, but we'll do our very best.
Your thigh bone (properly called the femur), for example, has growing ends near your hip and your knee. You can see these growing ends, called an epiphysis (pronounced eh-pif-uh-sis), as the red lines in the picture of the growing femur here. The bone grows longer by adding new cells in the red spaces.

You stop growing when these red spaces close or run out of new cells. The picture of the mature femur shows that the epiphyses have closed and growth is finished. This happens to girls when they are about 16 to 18 years old and happens to boys when they are about 18 to 22 years old.

OpenStax College, CC BY

Grownups cannot get taller, but they do get shorter. After age 30, people start to become a little bit shorter. They lose about two and a half centimetres of height by the age of 55 years. They get shorter because the connections between bones, called cartilage, get squished together.

This happens even to kids. Measure your height when you get out of bed in the morning and then again before you go to bed that night. You will be a little bit shorter because during the day your cartilage was squished. When you sleep, the cartilage expands, and you are taller again in the morning.

Muscles can grow

Grownups can grow bigger muscles if they exercise and if they eat healthy food. Riding a bike or running a lot will make leg muscles bigger. Lifting weights and doing press-ups will make arm muscles bigger. It's best to do some exercise for all your muscles.

Eating lots of fatty and sugary food, like too many chips, crisps or sweets, can make adults and children put on weight as fat. This is a kind of growing, but not a healthy kind. The best way to stay healthy and grow well is to do exercise and eat a lot of different kinds of healthy foods, like fruit and vegetables, and just a few crisps and sweets.

Some parts of grownups seem to get bigger. Sometimes grownups need to buy bigger shoes and they may think that their feet are growing. But the bones in their feet are not growing. What is actually happening is that the connections between the bones in their feet are sagging and the arch on the bottom of their feet is stretching out.

Seasontime/Shutterstock

Ears and noses of older adults do grow a little bit bigger because these parts are made mostly of cartilage, a type of body cell that can continue to divide into more cells as we age. Noses get just a tiny bit bigger but ears can become almost one centimetre longer. Also, gravity pulls down on noses and ears and as the cells become older they sag down, making these body parts seem larger.

The hands and faces of some grownups do get a little bit bigger as they get older. This happens because the brain produces something called growth hormone, which helps make the bones of kids grow a lot longer and wider. Grownup brains also make some growth hormone, and this can make faces and hands grow. Usually, this growth is very slow, but the brains of a few grownups make too much growth hormone and then their faces and hands can become too big. Doctors can stop this from happening with special treatments.
Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation that gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts. When sending in questions, make sure you include the asker's first name, age and town or city. You can:

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Some parts of grownups do not grow. Some parts do grow. And some parts seem to grow but really do not. Grownups cannot get taller. The bones of their arms, legs, chest and neck lose the ability to get longer.

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While we haven't yet put people on Mars, we may be able to in the future. As with any major human exploration, whether it's climbing Mount Everest or travelling to the deepest point of the oceans, there will be a number of obstacles to overcome when we send people to Mars (and bring them back home again).

Firstly, building a spacecraft that can take a crew to Mars safely will be a challenge. Astronauts staying on the International Space Station (ISS) can receive supplies of food, water and other provisions because it is close to the Earth. But a journey to Mars will last six to nine months, depending on the relative positions of the planets to each other. The spacecraft will need to be self-sufficient, which means it will have to carry all the necessary supplies required for the trip or be able to produce them on board.

Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation, which gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.com. We won't be able to answer every question, but we'll do our very best.
The spacecraft will also need to provide protection for the crew. On Earth we are shielded from the sun by a magnetic field, but in space we can be exposed to solar and cosmic radiation, which damages cells and increases the risk of cancer.

The cost of a ticket to Mars

One of the biggest challenges of a human Mars mission will be keeping the crew fit and healthy. Being in space for a long time can make a lot of strange things happen to the human body. When we enter the microgravity environment of space (when astronauts can float) the first thing that happens is that body fluids, which on Earth are "pulled" to the feet, are reduced and move towards the head and chest. This causes astronauts to experience something called "puffy head, chicken legs".

Other serious effects include changes to bone and muscle. In space, bone density reduces at a rate of 1% and muscle mass at a rate of 3% per month. This is similar to the levels lost in an entire year during the ageing process for older people on Earth.

Losing these amounts of bone and muscle may not seem to be much of a problem in space. The "weightless" conditions mean humans can perform apparent feats of superhuman strength, such as an astronaut moving a satellite into position by themselves. However, when re-entering a gravity environment, muscle and bone loss reduces physical performance and greatly increases the chance of a fracture.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

At present the best solution we have to counteract these effects is exercise. Astronauts on the ISS exercise for about 2.5 hours per day, doing a mixture of cardiovascular (cycling, running) and resistance or weight training. However, even with this amount of exercise, astronauts' fitness goes down by 25% in just six months, so it is likely that crews will arrive on Mars in a weak and fragile condition.

A one-way trip?

Once on the surface of Mars, crews will be exposed to gravity again. But the gravity on Mars is only 0.38g (about one-third that of Earth's). This means that moving around on the planet's surface will be much easier than on Earth - even though any visitors would have to wear protective spacesuits - but crew members may not be able to replace the muscle and bone lost during the journey. The concern is that if they are unable to replace this muscle and bone when on the surface of Mars (probably for about a year) then they may not be able to come home.

So scientists are looking at lots of ways to keep astronauts healthy during long-term space exploration, including a mission to Mars. They are trying to create artificial gravity devices so astronauts can take part of Earth's environment with them. Another possibility is vibration platforms like those used currently on Earth to help regenerate bones and muscles during ageing.

Hopefully, this will mean crews can endure the two-year round trip to Mars and ensure that our first journey to another planet isn't a one-way trip.
Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation, which gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts. When sending in questions, make sure you include the asker's first name, age and town or city. You can: Here are some more Curious Kids articles, written by academic experts:

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Curious Kids: why can't we put people on Mars?

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While we haven't yet put people on Mars, we may be able to in the future. As with any major human exploration, whether it's climbing Mount Everest or travelling to the deepest point of the oceans, there will be a number of obstacles to overcome when we send people to Mars (and bring them back home again).

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This book has been released for children who may be feeling lonely during this time.

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This book has been released for children who may be feeling lonely during this time.

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Agents of F.E.E.L.S...GO! Somewhere, some time ago, the Agents of F.E.E.L.S were formed. Working together to Feel Every Emotion Like Superheroes, our helpful heroes are here to assist YOU, the unsuspecting reader, understand the emotions that are trying to mess up YOUR day!

Just add this book to your cart and checkout. Once you have checked out you will receive a link to download your free e-book.

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A Kid's Guide To Feeling Lonely (Free PDF Book)

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Agents of F.E.E.L.S...GO! Somewhere, some time ago, the Agents of F.E.E.L.S were formed. Working together to Feel Every Emotion Like Superheroes, our helpful heroes are here to assist YOU, the unsuspecting reader, understand the emotions that are trying to mess up YOUR day! Just add this book to your cart and checkout.