Resource Topic: Resilience

Social Connections to Stay Resilient

Feeling connected to people can be a big motivator to keep going, especially when times are
hard. Our circles of support – whether it be family, friends, coworkers, teammates, church
members, or others – help us to manage stress and feel less alone. This tip sheet explores WHY social connections are a key component to maintaining resiliency for you and your family!

Tips for Teens: How to Manage Stress

Whether it is COVID-19 or some other stressful situation, behaviors you see on the outside are
only the “tip of the iceberg”. The feelings underneath can be overwhelming, especially for adolescents and teens. This tip sheet helps teens explore what’s “below the surface” when they’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed and alone.

Child Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE) Collaborative

CARE is an evidence-based universal approach to help any adult interacting with children or teens. It uses skills designed to enhance child-adult relationships and to reduce mild to moderate behavior problems. CARE is a trauma-informed training model for caregivers and professionals, paraprofessionals, and lay public who interact and work with children. CARE workshops actively build skills through discussion, demonstration, practice, and live coaching—all within a fun and engaging learning environment!

The International CARE (iCARE) Collaborative is a group of experts and all-around fun people who are excited to share the power of Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE) with others.  Visit the website for informational videos and trainings.

Local Parent Support Video Series

Joining Forces for Children partnered with Cincinnati Public schools to produce a weekly video series to help connect parents to support while school buildings are closed. Topics include taking care of your family, asking for help, social emotional learning at home, and much more! Check the Cincinnati Public Schools YouTube channel weekly for updates.

Attention Parents: It’s OK to Ask For Help!

The roller coaster of parenting is exhausting.  One day you have so many parenting wins you feel like people should be consulting you about how to be a parent!  The very next day is like someone gave you a whole new set of children, and nothing seems to go right.  So, if we all acknowledge parenting is exhausting, why is it so hard to ask for help? 

The Joining Forces for Children team created a helpful tip sheet to make it easier to reach out for concrete support when you need it most! Click below to see how local parents are supporting one another.

 

Parenting in the Time of COVID-19

Can’t go to work? Schools closed? Worried about money? It is normal to feel stressed and overwhelmed.

To help parents interact constructively with their children during this time of confinement, the World Health Organization published six one-page tips for parents and caregivers on planning one-on-one time, staying positive, creating a daily routine, avoiding bad behavior, managing stress, and talking about COVID-19. These tip sheets are available in 13 languages!

Use them to your and your kids’ advantage, and have fun! Laughing, having fun and building positive memories can help the whole family reduce stress.

 

Talking to Kids About Stressful Situations

One of the best things about the internet?  Resources at our fingertips.

One of the worst things about the internet?  Resources at our fingertips.

With so much information out there, how are we expected to really know what’s going to help our kids?  It helps to look for the common themes. For example, are you wondering how to talk to your kids about stressful situations, such as COVID-19?

Common themes most experts are recommending:

  1. Remain calm and reassuring: If you remain calm when they are not, they will eventually feel and mirror your calm.
  2. Make yourself available to talk: Disconnect from whatever task needs to be done and focus all of your attention on your child. Respond with love and assure them you are here for them no matter what. You might say, for example, “You are scared right now, and that is OK. We will get through this together.”
  3. Avoid blaming: Most of the time stressful situations are complicated. Blaming one person or group actually causes more anxiety for children. Instead, help your family focus on what they can control, like hand washing!
  4. Limit access to social media and TV: It’s OK to turn off the news for a little while. Constant focus on the crisis at hand increases everyone’s anxiety. Focus on making positive memories with your child while you take a break from social media and the news. Eventually, a conversation starter might be “what did you do during the COVID-19 crisis?”  Provide them with some cool memories to talk about in the future!
  5. Maintain a normal routine to the extent possible: Keep a regular schedule. Structure promotes a feeling of safety.
  6. Be honest and accurate: If kids don’t have the facts, they will often use their imagination to fill in the blanks. Avoid this by answering your child’s questions honestly. Remember, it’s OK not to have all the answers. Just reassure them that you love them and you will get through this together.

Helpful links:

 What to say when the news is scary:

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/24/716704917/when-the-news-is-scary-what-to-say-to-kids

Raising Kids Who Thrive:

 https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive

Dayton Independent Schools_Seedlings Issue_ACEs and Building Resilience through Protective Factors

A local publication shared within the Dayton, KY community that shares helpful information to parents about ACEs and ways that can help build a bright future for their children.

For more information about this publication and additional information about training in trauma-informed care, please reach out to Brittney Howell, Director of Special Education/Early Childhood for Dayton Independent Schools at brittney.howell@dayton.kyschools.us