Identification of distress

Welcome back. So we’ve got some strategies for how we can support our wellbeing, and the wellbeing of the children around us. But actually, I’m wondering if there are ways that we can tell if the children around us are experiencing distress. Are there certain things to look for? Every child is unique and it’s really important to have that close relationship with your child, so that you’re able to speak to them about some of the stress that they may be experiencing. And research actually shows us that the quicker a child can get support from a caregiver or a trusted adult, the better the outcomes are going to be. And you read earlier about resilience.

And resilience, really being the capacity within yourself to cope with challenges, and then also your ability to seek out resources when you need them, such as support. So how do you have a conversation with a child about distress? It’s really important to use child-friendly language. So for example we talk about stress and distress and children might not understand what we mean when we say those terms. So they could express this in saying they’re feeling worried. Also express it through different behaviors. So displaying anger or sadness And it’s really important to remember that every child is unique and what we’re looking for in early warning signs is changes.

Changes in mood, changes in behavior and some examples of this can be withdrawal from activity that previously brought them joy. Also difficulty concentrating, and it’s important to note that distresses really normal when children are going through difficult times, but we want to make sure that we catch that early. And now we have strategies that we can use such as child-mindfulness activities, social support mappings. And also make sure that you know how to talk to your child about stress early on and use their language. And really recognizing that each child is unique and they may display this differently. And that’s a really key point.