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If you're looking for activities to support your children's wellbeing, try some of the ideas below. They encourage children to think about their achievements, talents, relationships, diet, sleep and activity, as well as the world and people around them!

1. Have a phone, video or in-person conversation with a person you haven't spoken to in a while. Ask them how they are. What have they been doing recently? Share what you have been learning about recently and tell them about events in your life.

2. Write a letter to a friend, telling them about things that have been going well for you recently. Could you include some photos or draw a picture for them?

3. Think of a gift that you could give to somebody. Can you draw or make something that will make them smile?

4. Get some slips of paper and write something nice about a friend and then give it to them. Could you make similar 'compliment slips' for everyone in your family or your class?

5. Make a friendship bracelet using some string, wool, beads and other small items.

6. Make a certificate for a friend to celebrate one of their special qualities or an achievement.

7. Complete a 'random act of kindness' by doing something nice for a friend or a stranger anonymously (if possible).

8. Write a thank you letter to somebody to show your appreciation for a gift or something that the recipient has done for you.

9. Drink some water. Keep a record of how much water you are drinking each day.

10. Keep a sleep diary over the course of a week to check if you have been getting enough sleep each day.

11. Think about times when you have been brave. How did you overcome your fears?

12. Write a letter to yourself in a week, month or year. What goals do you hope to achieve by the time you read your letter again?

13. Think about something that might be worrying you at the moment. Make a comic strip in which you overcome those worries. How did you do it?

14. Keep a record of your wellbeing each day. Make a note of how you are feeling, things you might be thinking about and things you are looking forward to. There are some templates for this activity in our Wellbeing Pack.

15. Give a person (or a tree) a hug! How does it make you feel?

16. Ask somebody for help with something that has been troubling you recently.

17. Make a 'Fab File' to collect work and pictures that you are proud of, certificates that celebrate your achievements and cards from people that you care about. You could then look at it whenever you might be feeling low.

18. Make a list of all of the things that you have achieved in the past week / month / year. Think of a way to celebrate your amazing progress!

19. Make a list of all of the things that you are grateful for. Could you show these on the petals of a flower drawing or the coloured stripes of a rainbow painting?

20. Make a timeline to show the main events in your life and to highlight when you achieved new things for the first time (e.g. your first steps, first day at school and the first time you wrote your own name).

21. Keep a food diary to review the food and drink that you consume each day. Which parts of your diet are the most healthy?

22. Think about your favourite meal. Is it linked to a special celebration (e.g. a birthday or a religious event)? Work with others to make a display that shows everyone's favourite foods.

23. Learn how to bake or cook something. Could you make a healthy treat or a new meal?

24. Try star gazing. Look outside at night and search for the stars. Can you make any pictures or patterns with them?

25. Make a dream catcher and add small pictures or slips of paper that show your hopes for the future.

26. Find out about a charity that is important to you and think of ways that you could help.

27. Listen to some relaxing sounds (e.g. rainfall, beach sounds, rainforest soundtracks). How do they make you feel? This Youtube channel has lots of examples.

28. Play a game with a friend or family member. This might be a favourite card / board game or a new game that you have never played before. Could you make up your own game too?

29. Try some exercise. You could go for a walk, follow a workout or yoga video (e.g. Cosmic Kids) or play an active game with your friends.

30. Get outside. Go for a walk and try to look for different plants and animals. Could you make a note of which ones you see or draw a picture of some of them?

31. Grow some seeds and monitor their progress each day. Could you work with others to create a small garden?

32. Lay on the ground and look at the clouds. Do you know the names of any of the clouds? Do they look like any pictures or patterns? Could you draw a picture of some of them?

33. Try to solve some puzzles with a friend. These could be jigsaws, number puzzles or crosswords.

34. Go on a 'senses walk'. Head to a familiar place (or somewhere completely new) and think of all of the things that you can see, hear, smell and feel.

35. Take some photos of people and things that are important to you. Could you display these in different ways?

36. Try using your non-dominant hand to do some everyday tasks, e.g. brushing your teeth, drawing or writing. How does this feel?

37. Find some old toys or other items that could be donated to a charity. How could your donation help others?

38. Visit a library or a bookshop and find some new books to enjoy.

39. Plan a routine that might help you to relax before bedtime. How does this compare with others' routines?

40. Sit somewhere and breathe slowly, counting each breath in and out.

41. Dance! Put on your favourite song and dance along. You might be able to follow a dance-along version of the video on Youtube too. Here are some examples.

42. Talk about the benefits of being active with your friends. Could you plan a sporting event for everyone to get involved in?

43. Have a talent show to share skills and talents that you and your friends have.

44. Sing the lyrics to your favourite pop song or simply sing your favourite nursery rhyme to yourself.

45. Find some inspirational quotes online and choose one that you like. Could you turn it into a poster?

46. Try giving a compliment to somebody every day. How does it make them feel? How does it make you feel?

47. Put on some calming music and colour in some colouring pages. There are lots of free printables on our Teaching Ideas site.

48. Write a story. Use ideas from your favourite stories or the things that are around you right now. You could also try to illustrate it.

49. Lie down somewhere quiet and feel your pulse. Can you count the number of beats?

50. Think of something that you could do to help a neighbour. Could you surprise them with a kind action?

51. Learn a new skill. Follow some instructions from a book, a parent / teacher or an online video to learn how to do something new! Could you then teach that skill to somebody else?

52. Walk around barefoot in a safe place (check it carefully first!). How does it feel?

53. Make a time capsule that includes information about your life today. Which people are most important to you? What are you most grateful for? What are your favourite things? What goals do you have for the future? Keep this somewhere safe and open it in the future. Don't forget where you put it! Our Time Capsule Pack will be helpful for this activity.

54. Learn how to play an instrument. If you don't have access to an instrument, could you make a simple set of drums using some old boxes or a guitar using boxes and elastic bands?

55. Use construction toys, building blocks or junk modelling materials to make something! Could you work with others to make something as a team?

56. Laugh! Share some favourite jokes with friends or watch a funny cartoon or video.

57. Try designing some new clothes. You might be able to draw on an old T-shirt, make a costume out of scrap / recyclable materials or create an outfit for a cuddly toy!

58. Read a book. You could choose a book that you haven't read before, or pick your favourite book and tell a friend all about it.

59. Make a paper aeroplane. Make a few with some friends and have a competition to see which one flies the furthest.

60. Make a scrapbook or a collage to show things that make you smile or things that you are proud of.

If you like these, make sure that you download our Wellbeing Pack! It's full of quality resources that help children to think about, and improve, their own wellbeing.

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60 Wellbeing Activities for Children - Resources for Teachers and Educators

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If you're looking for activities to support your children's wellbeing, try some of the ideas below. They encourage children to think about their achievements, talents, relationships, diet, sleep and activity, as well as the world and people around them! Have a phone, video or in-person conversation with a person you haven't spoken to in a while.

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Children's and young people's mental wellbeing

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The Reach4Wellbeing Team is part of Starting Well Service which is run by Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust. It promotes and supports emotional wellbeing for children and young people aged 5-19 years old. We offer short-term group support programmes for those experiencing emotional difficulties, specifically anxiety, low mood and self-harm.

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A therapeutic digital intervention (game) for childhood anxiety:

For 7-12 year olds (facing difficulties with anxiety)

Therapeutic basis: Psychoeducation and Exposure therapy

Embedded outcome measures

Built in safeguarding & accessibility features

Provides data to Authorised Professionals securely through the VitaMind Hub

Available on Android and iOS

Co-created with young people, guardians, teachers, clinicians, academics, game experts

Points of use:
Lumi Nova does not require constant clinical supervision.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

Lumi Nova: Tales of Courage is a digital therapeutic that helps with the symptoms of worries or anxiety for children aged 7-12 years with mild to moderate needs, helping them learn skills to self-manage their worries/anxiety in an engaging intergalactic adventure game (app).

This app facilitates CBT (including psychoeducation and exposure therapy) recommended as a treatment intervention by NICE Anxiety disorders Quality standard and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of anxiety disorders.
Lumi Nova is not intended to be used by:

1. Young people who do not have parental or carer supervision

2. Young people who are currently experiencing suicidal thoughts or are at risk of self harm

3. Young people that have severe anxiety or are in crisis

4. Young people with severe mental health symptoms or diagnoses, who are not supported by a healthcare professional.

READ FULL INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

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A therapeutic digital intervention (game) for childhood anxiety: For 7-12 year olds (facing difficulties with anxiety) Therapeutic basis: Psychoeducation and Exposure therapy Embedded outcome measures Built in safeguarding & accessibility features Provides data to Authorised Professionals securely through the VitaMind Hub Available on Android and iOS Co-created with young people, guardians, teachers, clinicians, academics, game experts Lumi Nova does not require constant clinical supervision.

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Looking For Personalnew.pptx offer? Read Personalnew.pptx offer from mtunnicliffe here. Check all flipbooks from mtunnicliffe. Mtunnicliffe’s Personalnew.pptx offer looks good? Share Personalnew.pptx offer online.

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Resources for Emotional Literacy Support Assistants - ELSA Support

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Emotional literacy support assistants - or ELSAs - are teaching assistants trained to provide emotional and social skills support to children.

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Mental Health parent leaflet (Anna Freud)

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Mental Health parent leaflet (Anna Freud)

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The HappiMe App uses simple CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy), NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and Mindfulness techniques in a fun and engaging way, introducing you to the power of happy thoughts and thinking positively using Chimp, Computer and The HappiTars.

By teaching our children that they can choose the thoughts they listen to and by giving them a new toolbox of strategies and techniques, we can help them to grow into happier and more confident young people.
*Stats from Young Minds
**Stats from Mental Health Foundation

Whatever many are doing right now is not working. It's a big problem and it's getting worse

Many thousands of children and young people are isolated, unhappy, have eating disorders and self-harm; some tragically take their own lives. Many are likely to become victims of crime, grow up in dysfunctional families or be left to cope with illness, drugs and/or alcohol issues - not necessarily their own.

​We can help.

Did you know?

850,000 children aged 5-16 have mental health problems.**

Three children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health disorder. *

One in 10 young people deliberately harm themselves regularly (and 15,000 of them are hospitalised each year because of this). *

Nearly 80,000 children and young people suffer from severe depression.

Half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14. *

45% of children in care have a mental health disorder - these are some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

Nearly 300,000 young people in Britain have an anxiety disorder. *

95% of imprisoned young offenders have a mental health disorder. Many of them are struggling with more than one disorder.*

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HappiMe is a free, non-profit app that helps to raise self-esteem, self-confidence and happiness levels in children, young people and adults by teaching them about the power of thinking positively and how to choose a more helpful way of thinking.

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Practice your daily meditation and mindfulness exercises from any device.

Smiling Mind is a unique tool developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life.

We suggest 10 minutes a day.

What are you waiting for?

DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!

Our App

A daily mindfulness and meditation guide at your fingertips

#1 Apple Health & Wellbeing App 2018 - Australia

Downloaded over 8.3M times

100% evidence based

FREE Programs for children and adults

We suggest 10 minutes a day

What are you waiting for?

DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!

TRY SAYING:

"Hey Google, talk to Smiling Mind"

"Hey Google, do a sleep meditation with Smiling Mind"

"Hey Google, use Smiling Mind to do a relax meditation"

"Hey Google, help me focus with Smiling Mind"

Indigenous Languages Program

We worked with NPY Women's Council to develop a mindfulness program aimed at providing accessible and engaging mental health tools for Aboriginal people of the NPY region. These meditations have been scripted and recorded by senior Anangu women in Pitjantjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra. Thanks to nib foundation for funding this work.

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Smiling Mind is a unique tool developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life. We suggest 10 minutes a day. What are you waiting for?

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The fear of threat, or anxiety, is like a strong gust of wind. It drags you in and makes you want to fight it or run away.

Instead, face your fear with the free Clear Fear app and learn to reduce the physical responses to threat as well as changing thoughts and behaviours and releasing emotions.

Anxiety is a natural response to fear, threat and apprehension. However when anxiety is extreme or goes on for a long time, or the response to a threat is disproportionately large and affects a person negatively, it may become an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders are the most common form of emotional disorder and respond very well to a form of treatment called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT.
When you face your fear, you will reduce the threat and glide.

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The fear of threat, or anxiety, is like a strong gust of wind. It drags you in and makes you want to fight it or run away. Instead, face your fear with the free Clear Fear app and learn to reduce the physical responses to threat as well as changing thoughts and behaviours and releasing emotions.

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Chill Panda - Reducing anxiety and improving well being in Children through a fun gaming app

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Everyone feels angry sometimes, and this is a normal and healthy reaction when things go wrong, life feels unfair, we get overwhelmed, or people upset and hurt us. Anger can act as a positive force for change, letting us know that something is wrong or not okay with us.

Anger can start to become a problem for your child if it is overwhelming or unmanageable, making them unhappy, or being expressed through unhelpful or destructive behaviours - either towards themselves or other people.

Angry feelings and aggressive behaviour can be really hard to deal with as a parent, and can have a big effect on family life. But there are things you can do to make the situation better, and places where you can find support.

How can I respond when my child gets angry?

Try to separate your child's feelings from their behaviour, remembering that all feelings are okay, even though some behaviour is not. Make it clear that you're not dismissing their anger by letting them know that it's okay to feel however they feel, and that it's normal to feel angry sometimes.

Try not to get angry yourself, as this will only escalate the situation. Focus on keeping a calm manner, neutral voice and open body language - for example, not folding your arms.

Avoid asking them lots of questions when they're feeling very angry or distressed. Acknowledge that they're feeling angry, and let them know that you'd like to talk with them about what's going on when they feel ready.

If it feels appropriate, offer them some time and space to calm down. Especially with older teenagers, sometimes just having half an hour to listen to some music, go for a walk or do an activity they enjoy can help them feel calmer - making it more possible to have a conversation about what's making them feel this way.

If you need to, explain why their behaviour is not okay so they understand - and hold consistent boundaries around consequences. For example, you might say that while it's normal to feel angry, it's not okay when they shout at you. Remember that while your child might resist boundaries and consequences, they can actually help them to feel safe, contained and cared for.

Once things have calmed down, try to open up a conversation about what's going on. A young person's anger can boil over for all sorts of reasons - and sometimes there might be other feelings such as stress, sadness, hurt or worry underneath it. A person who's feeling angry a lot of time probably isn't feeling very happy - and while it might not be obvious, what they often need is support. You can find our tips on starting a conversation with your child here.

How can I help my child to manage their anger?

Try to open up a conversation about what's going on. If your child doesn't know why they are feeling angry, think together about what might be causing these feelings. You might begin by saying that you have noticed they don't seem happy, and you're wondering if anything is worrying them or stressing them out. You can find more tips on starting a conversation with your child here.

If your child is prepared to talk, focus at first on listening to them and empathising with how they're feeling. Anger can be a difficult topic for young people to talk about, so reassure them that it's normal to feel angry sometimes, and that you're glad they're sharing these feelings with you.

Stick to consistent boundaries and rules around their behaviour. When young people are angry they can also feel frightened about how out of control things seem. While they might not like it, they do need stability and consistency from you.

Help them to recognise the patterns around when and how they get angry. Think together about what triggers their anger, and whether there are things that would help them to realise this is happening before situations become overwhelming.

Support them to find ways of channelling their anger and calming down. This could be as simple as taking deep breaths, or listening to music. It might also help to do something physical like playing sport, running or going for a walk, or to do another activity they enjoy - whether it's painting, colouring, reading or skateboarding. Some young people like to find creative ways of expressing their feelings, for example by drawing, writing it down, writing poems or keeping a journal.

Give yourself and your child some time for things to get better. Things don't always change straightaway, and sometimes young people just need their parents to notice and acknowledge that things are hard for them.

Young people tell us it helps to

Think of the bigger picture: will this bother you in a year?

Try and say why you're angry, and remember that time alone to calm yourself down is okay.

Take some time to think about how your actions are affecting others, and try to remember people are usually trying to help you!

Apologise if you have harmed someone - and if you have hurt yourself, apologise to yourself.

Figure out why you reacted like that so you can recognise it next time before it's too late.

Tell someone if they've made you angry, or talk to someone else about it.

Remind yourself that the emotion is valid.

How can I respond to aggression and violence?

When a young person is really angry and is struggling to manage this feeling, they can be verbally or physically aggressive, or violent. Sometimes you might not feel safe, and if this is the case it's important that you reach out for help.

In these situations:

If it is safe for you and your child, remove yourself and any other family members from the room.

If not safe to remove yourself, and you feel that you or anyone else is at immediate risk of harm, warn your child that if the aggression does not stop you will need to contact the police. Follow through and call the police if the aggression continues and you do not feel safe.

Calling the police in a situation that involves your child is an incredibly difficult thing for any parent to have to do. But if your safety, or the safety of other family members, is in question, this may be the only course of action.

A young person who is behaving in this way may need professional support to help them understand, and find ways of coping with, their anger. It's a good idea to speak to a professional if your child's anger is at this stage, and you can find out who to speak to below.

Where can I find professional help?

GP and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
It's a good idea to speak to your GP if your child's anger has been going on for a while, and it is negatively affecting their day-to-day life, wellbeing or relationships. You may also be concerned that their anger is part of a bigger struggle they are having with their mental health.

Speaking to your GP is usually the first step to accessing mental health services and support. Together you can discuss whether referral to CAMHS, an assessment by a mental health specialist or referral for another kind of support is needed. You can speak to your GP with or without your child.
Counselling and therapy
Counsellors and therapists can provide emotional support and help your child to make sense of, and find ways to cope with, their anger.

You can find local counselling and therapy services by:

Speaking to your GP

Asking your child's school whether they provide a free or subsidised counselling service, and whether they can make a referral for your child

Searching online for free counselling services in your area, and/or using the Youth Access directory to do this

Finding a private counsellor, therapist or family therapist using the directories listed in our guide

Emotional support services
If your child needs to talk and they would find it helpful to open up to someone outside of the family, let them know about the phone, webchat, email and text support they can access from the services listed at the end of this guide.

More information and advice

If you have a younger child, and you need support to respond their behaviour, you can find our advice and strategies here.

If you need support to start a conversation with your child about what's going on, you can find lots of tips here.

If you have a teenager who's struggling with anger, they may find it helpful to hear about other young people's experiences.

If your child has a developmental issue or disability and is struggling to manage their anger, organisations such as the National Autistic Society and Contact can provide advice to help you support them.

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Everyone feels angry sometimes, and this is a normal and healthy reaction when things go wrong, life feels unfair, we get overwhelmed, or people upset and hurt us. Anger can act as a positive force for change, letting us know that something is wrong or not okay with us.

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Supporting your child's mental health: 10 practical tips for parents

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Ten practical tips for parents and carers supporting a child with a mental health problem, written by those who have gone through it.

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SuperBetter builds resilience - the ability to stay strong, motivated and optimistic even in the face of change and difficult challenges. Playing SuperBetter unlocks heroic potential to overcome tough situations and achieve goals that matter most.

See our story

Backed by science

Created by game designer Jane McGonigal, SuperBetter is powered by the Live Gamefully® method; a framework that activates the psychological strengths of game play to build resilience and success in real life.

Proven results in just minutes a day.

Get Inspired! In this popular TED Talk Jane McGonigal shares her personal story that led to creating SuperBetter.

Anxiety and depression among 12-25 year-olds have been growing at alarming rates since 2012

Playing SuperBetter empowers youth with skills and resources to thrive

Educators and other front-line workers use our gameful methodology to promote youth resilience, mental health and social-emotional learning.

A new group play experience and other planned app upgrades will make it simple and fun for teachers to play SuperBetter with their classrooms.

Collaborate with Us

Join over a million people so far who have played SuperBetter to achieve goals and tackle challenges including anxiety, depression, chronic pain, concussion recovery and more. We make the Original SuperBetter website and apps available for free to anyone around the world.

Play Now

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SuperBetter - Get Stronger, Happier and More Resilient

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SuperBetter builds resilience - the ability to stay strong, motivated and optimistic even in the face of change and difficult challenges. Playing SuperBetter unlocks heroic potential to overcome tough situations and achieve goals that matter most.

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SAM is an application to help you understand and manage anxiety.

The app has been developed in collaboration with a research team from UWE, Bristol

Email us your suggestions for improving SAM - support@sam-app.org.uk

Email us if interested in partnering with UWE on research and development of SAM and related projects - info@sam-app.org.uk

Key Features

SAM will help you to understand what causes your anxiety, monitor your anxious thoughts and behaviour over time and manage your anxiety through self-help exercises and private reflection.

The "Social cloud" feature will enable you to share your experiences with the SAM community while protecting your identity

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SAM is an application to help you understand and manage anxiety. The app has been developed in collaboration with a research team from UWE, Bristol Email us your suggestions for improving SAM - support@sam-app.org.uk Email us if interested in partnering with UWE on research and development of SAM and related projects - info@sam-app.org.uk SAM will help you to understand what causes your anxiety, monitor your anxious thoughts and behaviour over time and manage your anxiety through self-help exercises and private reflection.

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Combined Minds is an app developed for teenage mental health charity stem4 by Dr Nihara Krause, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, to help families and friends support young people with their mental health.

When a child or young person has a diagnosed mental health condition, families and friends want to support them in the best way but also know when to step back. Combined Minds uses a 'Strengths-Based' Approach which has been shown to be effective in recovery. This approach focusses on the positive attributes of the person and builds on resourcefulness and resilience.

A shared harness can balance or protect a climber and help catch them when they fall. Keep on partnering so they can climb tall.

Combined Minds helps families and friends to find ways to provide the right environment to help the individuals they support affect their own change. As important influencers in the lives of young people, this provides positive impact on their mental health.

A 'Strengths-Based' Approach works both ways, also helping families and friends to search for their own strengths.

Please note the app is an aid in treatment but does not replace it. Please help the young person you are supporting to see their GP. stem4's Asking For Help leaflet on their Resources page provides help on how to book a GP appointment.

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Combined Minds is an app developed for teenage mental health charity stem4 by Dr Nihara Krause, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, to help families and friends support young people with their mental health. When a child or young person has a diagnosed mental health condition, families and friends want to support them in the best way but also know when to step back.

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Even when you know how beneficial meditation can be for you, and that you should begin meditating right away, it can be a little overwhelming to get started.

To help you with that, I put together this quick and easy guide on how to get started with meditation, how to grow a meditation habit, and why it matters.

It only takes a few minutes to read, and is the perfect thing to read before starting one of the meditations above!
Learn about: How to meditate for beginners
Here's how to start:

Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit, with your back upright.

Put on headphones (this will help block outside distractions).

Select the meditation length that's ideal for you.

Press play and close your eyes.

Focus your attention on your breath, breathing in and out.

Tips for getting started How to meditate for beginners
Tips for getting started
Benefits of meditation
How to approach meditation Benefits of meditation

Decreased stress and anxiety

Increased mindfulness (the ability to be aware of what's occurring at any given moment, but being able to choose how to act, as opposed to just reacting)

How to approach meditation Building a meditation habit
Schedule for starting
Building a meditation habit Meditation for kids
Why I built QuietKit
QuietKit presents a very simple, direct type of guided meditation for beginners, perfect for anyone getting started: focusing your attention on your breath, and nothing else, as you sit quietly.

When you first start meditating, as you try to focus on your breathing, your mind is going to overload, and you'll start thinking about things other than your breathing.

That's okay.
Schedule for starting
A big part of meditating is, when that happens, letting those other thoughts flow out of you, and then trying to bring your focus back to your breath.

Week 1 - 2 minute meditation session each day

Week 2 - 4 minute meditation session each day

Week 3 - 6 minute meditation session each day

Week 4 - 8 minute meditation session each day

Week 5 - 10 minute meditation session each day

The real benefits of meditation (listed below) come from that practice: focusing on just your breath, and if you lose that focus, letting those new thoughts go, and returning to your breath.

Keep doing a 10 minute meditation session at the beginning of each day, and also do a meditation session at the end of the day (of any length).

Even people who have practiced for years lose their focus when meditating.

But they just accept that it happens from time to time, they don't worry about it when it does happen, and then they return to focusing on their breathing.

Using the guided meditation for beginners options from QuietKit is a great way to help you regain focus when you lose it, which is why we made them for you :)
Meditation for Kids Note: want to bring meditation into your school? Use our free Meditation in Schools resource!
The guided meditations from QuietKit offers three main benefits to anyone who uses them:

It can work for a child of almost any age. As long as they have the ability to sit still, listen, focus on their breath, and understand what is being said in the meditation, then they can learn to meditate. And there isn't a "too old" phase when they can't benefit from meditation.

Explain to them why meditation can be so helpful. Telling them to do it "because I said so" or "because it's good for you" won't convince anyone, regardless of age. Read through this page with them, and explain how meditating can help them deal with stress, learn how to focus (which helps with school and sports), and can help them from having their emotions overwhelm them.

Help them make it a daily habit. Just like teaching them to brush their teeth, having them meditate daily can do wonders. Don't even worry about advancing beyond the 2 minute meditation if they aren't interested, but just focus on having them meditate each and every day.

Meditate with them. Just like spending quality time with them, make meditation something you do with them. Find a time and context, such as before school or at night before they goto bed, when you can make meditation something you do with them.

Meditation is also great for schools. Not only can it help students decrease stress and increase focus, but it can also help hardworking teachers working hard in those schools. Use our Meditation in Schools resource to get started!

There's a simple way to approach meditation:
Why I built QuietKit
Treat it as a daily habit.

A lot of times meditation is talked about by how long you can do it in one sitting.
In searching for some way to deal with stress (other than the unhelpful advice of "be less stressed"), I came across meditation.
But there's a lot more to be gained from short meditation sessions done each day.
Once I was sold on the very real benefits of meditation, I found that figuring out how to get started on meditation was surprisingly difficult.
Start small: instead of trying to jump right into 10 minutes, start with 2.

Build slowly: there's no rush, so take your time (we'll give you a simple schedule below).

Build consistency: try to meditate every day, in the same place, at the same time. Meditate at home, before you start your day. That might mean before going to work, school, running errands, or even before you start a day of relaxation.
It was incredibly discouraging, and out of frustration I ended up building the guided meditation for beginners tool I wish I had when I first heard about meditation.
But maybe beginning of the day doesn't work for you, and that's completely okay. What you should look for are natural break points in your day. Maybe that means taking time right before lunch, or right after getting home from work, or before dinner, or before bed.

Play around and experiment to see what context and situation works best for you.

Every day in small amounts beats large amounts infrequently: think of it like exercise. Would you benefit more from working out really hard only one day a year, or from doing a little bit every day?

Here's a schedule you can start with (do a guided meditation for beginners from QuietKit at the start of your day):
Something this powerful should be available for free to everyone in the world. So I built it out and released it as QuietKit.
After week 5:
- John Turner, creator of QuietKit
Adding a second meditation session to your day is a great way to provide another "reset" time to your day.

Try doing this second session either when you get home from work, school, errands, or before you are about to go to bed.

The benefits from meditation come from doing it consistently over time, so keep going!

A few of the users of QuietKit have said they use it to help their kids meditate. Here are some quick tips for helping your children develop a meditation habit:

If you have any tips that we should add to this section, send me an email :)

There seem to be new tools and services to help us with every little thing in life, but there's one thing that isn't being dealt with that we all have a lot of: stress.

That was the problem I found myself facing. Even when things were going well there was still a lot of stress, and it started getting to me.

Certainly not a new idea, but what's happened recently is there have been a number of scientific studies uncovering just how helpful meditation is in decreasing stress, increasing focus, and increasing mindfulness (even in as little as 100 cumulative minutes of meditating).

Most resources were dense, overly long books that seemed to hide any good advice, or training programs that demanded huge "all or nothing" commitments before you even knew if they were helpful, or apps and websites that required signing up and payment before you knew if it would help you understand meditation.

Even if you could find a free option, they all seemed to be free only so they could immediately sell you something else, and wouldn't be that helpful on their own.

None of the tools, services and resources felt like they catered to the real challenges a beginner faced with meditation.

And it worked!

Not only did the tool I built work perfectly for a beginner trying to get into meditation, and help me deal with stress better, but it quickly improved every part of my life.

I couldn't believe, after just a few weeks, how great I felt and how much my meditation tool improved all aspects of my life.

It made me wish I had this tool when I was 20. Or 15. Or 5.

Now I'm on a mission to help everyone on the planet gain the same benefits from meditation that I gained.

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QuietKit: Guided Meditation for Beginners (for free)

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Even when you know how beneficial meditation can be for you, and that you should begin meditating right away, it can be a little overwhelming to get started. To help you with that, I put together this quick and easy guide on how to get started with meditation, how to grow a meditation habit, and why it matters.

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Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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The Reach4Wellbeing team aims to promote positive wellbeing, reach children and young people in their communities and reduce the stigma of mental health.

We currently provide short-term group programmes for children and young people age 5-18 experiencing mild to moderate anxiety and low mood.

About us

We are passionate about improving the emotional and mental wellness of children and young people. Our team are friendly, knowledgeable and supportive of all children and young people we work with.

The CAMHS Reach4Wellbeing team delivers interactive online group programmes for young people and parents of primary school age children using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) principles. We accept self-referrals and referrals from professionals

Each of the online sessions are evidence based and we are currently able to offer the following:

*A six week anxiety and low mood programme for young people (years 7 to 13)

*A six week anxiety programme for parents/carers to support the emotional wellbeing needs of their children who are in reception to year 6.

Our programmes rely on practising skills outside the weekly group sessions. Research has shown that the more children and young people practice skills learnt in the groups, the more they saw improvements in their anxiety/depression and experienced greater positive well-being by the end of, and following the group. Like any change, this entails hard work, persistence and time, if you currently cannot put in this additional commitment, our programmes will not be effective.

To benefit from this treatment please only attend a Reach4Wellbeing group when you feel ready to participate in the programme and complete the practice tasks between sessions.

Some of the feedback comments from our online groups:
"Thank you, that session was more powerful than you could ever know" "After last week's meeting, I walked around like clear, blue sky!" "This meeting has structured my thought process about stuff better" "It feels good to know I'm not alone and there are other families coping with the same difficulties" "I found the course content has been clear and concise, it's provoked opportunity to talk and created thoughtful conversations."
Contact information

Service hours: Monday - Friday; 8.30am - 4.30pm

Location: Countywide community locations

Team Lead: Catherine Eastwell

Email: whcnhs.reach4wellbeing@nhs.net

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Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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The Reach4Wellbeing team aims to promote positive wellbeing, reach children and young people in their communities and reduce the stigma of mental health. We currently provide short-term group programmes for children and young people age 5-18 experiencing mild to moderate anxiety and low mood.

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We're an ed-tech company at heart, but we're also aware that too much screen time can have a negative effect on children's well-being. To get the kids off the screens, but still having some serious fun we've compiled a series of free, downloadable non-screen activity sheets for kids so you can print and share. There are six sheets in total and they cover everything from cooking and crafting to music and movement!

Download your copies below:

Download your copy of this sheet here

Download your copy of this sheet here

Want to know more about Pobble?

Pobble provides exciting daily writing resources to inspire your young writers. You'll find incredible images with ready-made writing activities that engage and motivate your class, 365 days a year.

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Non-screen activities for kids! 6 printable sheets

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We're an ed-tech company at heart, but we're also aware that too much screen time can have a negative effect on children's well-being. To get the kids off the screens, but still having some serious fun we've compiled a series of free, downloadable non-screen activity sheets for kids so you can print and share.

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MindEd is suitable for all adults working with, or caring for, infants, children or teenagers, adults and older people, including people with a learning disability and autistic people; all the information provided is quality assured by experts, useful, and easy to understand. We aim to give adults who care for, or work with people:

the knowledge to support their wellbeing

the understanding to identify a child, young person or adult at risk of a mental health condition

the confidence to act on their concern and, if needed, signpost to services that can help

MindEd is multi-professional, and can be used by teachers, health and mental health professionals, police and judiciary staff, social workers, youth service volunteers, school counsellors among others to support their professional development.

All registered learners can access a learning path tailored to their needs.

Throughout the MindEd site we make use of images and videos. In all cases, except where specifically noted, these images and videos use actors and are not intended to represent any specific person.

Disclaimer

Please note that the advice provided on MindEd is written and quality assured by experts in mental health and is accurate and comprehensive as possible. It is however only general advice and should not be used as a substitute for any individual advice you might receive from consulting your own doctor/mental health professional. Please use your own judgement when deciding how best to apply our information to any specific situation or proposed treatment. This applies to any clinical professionals, who should use their own clinical judgement when interpreting the information on MindEd and deciding how to best apply it in the treatment of patients.

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MindEd is suitable for all adults working with, or caring for, infants, children or teenagers, adults and older people, including people with a learning disability and autistic people; all the information provided is quality assured by experts, useful, and easy to understand.

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Try these activities instead!

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yoga "yoga for children" "kids yoga" yogabears

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YogaBears is a unique Children's Yoga curriculum designed to nurture each and every child's superpowers! Discover our A to Z!

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"kids yoga" "yoga for kids" "yoga for children yoga story for kids" "children's yoga" "yoga adventure for kids" "kindergarten yoga" "preschool yoga" "kids me...

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YOGA | MINDFULNESS | RELAXATION FOR KIDS! Screentime that gives kids SUPERPOWERS! ⬇️ D O W N L O A D T H E C O S M I C K I D S A P P ⬇️ 🍏Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cosmic-kids/ 🛍️Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cosmickids 🖥️ Desktop (great for teachers!): https://app.cosmickids.com/ 📺 Roku: https://rb.gy/44r8d -------------------------------------------------------------------- Why watch on the App?