The Guardian recently reported some truly alarming figures – one quarter of 14 year old girls in the UK have self-harmed. It’s a staggering statistic, with the Children’s Society estimating that 110,000 children aged 14 may be self-harming, including 76,000 girls and 33,000 boys. Clearly, we need to be doing more to empower our children with coping skills and their own self-care toolkit. Many adults struggle with the concept and practice of self-care so it’s little wonder that our children need more support and education on healthy ways to cope with the demands of life.
When I think back to my own experiences of being a child, I feel a great sense of concern for today’s youth. As a teen there are so many changes to navigate – changing bodies, changing emotions, changing friendships, more responsibility, busier schedules, and weighty decisions to make affecting the future.It was a difficult time to navigate twenty years ago and that was well before the advent of screen time, social media and the incredible pressure kids feel today to ‘get ahead’ and shine amongst stiff competition. The social landscape our children live in is vastly different to the one we experienced and we are all learning together how to manage our online life and relationship with technology.
Thankfully there are solutions and our children are learning core coping skills and concepts like yoga, meditation, mindfulness and growth mindset from an early age. We need to build on this by empowering our kids with a practical self-care toolkit, one that nourishes their mental, emotional and physical health.
What we all need to make self-care a daily habit is a framework and a broad toolkit from which to draw. This is why I created the Vitality Wheel which reminds us of the 8 different ways we can nourish ourselves in any moment.
I have a series of workshops coming up which will show you how to use the Vitality Wheel to build your own self-care toolkit, whether you are aged 3, 13 or 43.
The first one is ‘Self-Care for Teens: Boosting Resilience and Coping Skills’ Workshop
Help your teen embark on the new school year with a healthy outlook and strong coping toolkit. This workshop is about empowering teens with their own resources to navigate challenging situations, stress and anxiety, helping them take ownership of their health and wellbeing.
Included in the workshop:
Sunday 16th September 12.30 – 2pm
And the second is for parents to attend: ‘Self-Care for Kids: Boosting Resilience and Emotional First Aid’
Come along to this workshop and learn how to introduce the concept to your children and take away a practical toolkit that will keep your whole family well nourished.
You will learn:
Sunday 23rd September 12.30 – 2pm