Encouraging wellbeing at nursery and at home
A sense of wellbeing is a really important part of a child’s development. This is linked to their physical, mental, emotional and social health, and can have a long term impact. According to research, increasing levels of wellbeing in the first five years is key to future mental health*. At Your Co-op Little Pioneers, we committed to children’s health and wellbeing, inside and out, so that they’re as happy and healthy as possible!
Encouraging your children to understand and talk about their wellbeing is a central to who we are, and it’s become even more important during this time. So we wanted to share some of the activities that we’re doing in our nurseries and how you can continue this approach at home! Through being good role models and helping our children develop positive thinking and behaviour patterns, we can all improve their wellbeing and teach them lifelong skills.
And remember, wellbeing is not just for children! Adults also need to make time for their own wellbeing. That’s why we provide support for our nursery teams, based on the ‘five ways to wellbeing’ – you might like to take a look at this for yourself too, we’ve included more information at the end of the article.
Explaining feelings
Young children often don’t have the right words to say how they’re feeling. When they are experiencing strong emotions, they may express them through physical reactions such as crying or hitting, rather than processing them through thought.
Adults can help children to recognise their emotions. Talking about what feelings are called and how they affect us physically helps them understand and communicate, which improves their wellbeing.
Here are some activities which we use in nursery and which you could try at home:
Emotion flashcards
Simple cards with keywords such as happy, excited, sad or angry, and images of faces which match the feelings described. Our teams use these throughout the day and encourage the children to use them too. At home, you could try using your cards throughout the day to see if your little one can recognise their emotions. Whether it’s happiness in having playtime with you or anger about sharing, over time your child should start to become familiar with using the cards to share their feelings with you.
Emotions dough
This is a fun craft activity that you can use at home to prompt conversations with your little one. Make a batch of playdough and use it to make faces, each with a different emotion. Talk about each one: What makes you sad? What makes you happy? When you’re feeling sad what do you like to do? What does a smile mean? How do you know if you’re feeling worried? Be sure to mention physical reactions to feelings such as laughing, crying, butterflies in your tummy and so on.
Playdough ingredients:
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1 cup of flour (whatever kind you have on hand)
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1/2 cup of salt
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1/4 cup of water
Instructions:
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Mix together the flour and the salt.
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Mix together 1/2 cup of warm water with a few drops of food colouring.
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Slowly pour the water into the flour mixture, stirring as you pour. Stir until combined, then knead with your hands until the flour is completely absorbed. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour until it doesn’t stick at all.
Fresh air and play
Playing outside helps reduce stress and will put your child in a good mood. After concentrating on an indoor activity for some time, children need fresh air. At our nurseries, we make sure all our children take regular outside breaks.
Try to limit screen time by setting clear and consistent boundaries. Most devices have timers so it easy for children to know when their time is up!
And once screen time is over, head outside to let off some steam. It’s even better if children can play together, as developing positive relationships with others is very important for their wellbeing and will help them maintain relationships in their adult life.
Meaningful praise
Most young children enjoy recognition and praise for their achievements. But in order to be really effective, this praise needs to be specific. Phrases like ‘good girl’ and ‘good boy’ do not always help children connect their efforts and the praise given. Add more detail by simply saying what you see and describing the characteristic it demonstrates: ‘You shared the blocks with Tom, well done, that’s very kind’. This can help children build a feeling of self-worth. At nursery and at home, we can all let children know that their positive behaviour is appreciated.
A good night’s sleep
Sleep is an important element to maintain wellbeing. In our nurseries, we use a routine to help your little ones relax and get ready for nap time. And we suggest you do the same at home too. It’s never too late to establish a night time routine. This may include a bath, reading a story or listening to quiet music. Make sure that screen time finishes an hour or two before bedtime to allow your child’s brain to unwind.
Looking after ourselves too
Caring for children can be emotionally exhausting. We all need to make time to look after ourselves, so that we are able to look after others.
We encourage our team to follow the five ways to wellbeing – you might find them useful too:
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Take notice. Remember the simple things that give you joy.
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Connect. Talk and listen, be there, feel connected.
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Keep learning. Embrace new experiences, see opportunities, surprise yourself.
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Be active. Do what you can, enjoy what you do, move your mood.
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Give. Your time, your words, your presence.
You can find out more details here.
Social responsibility is a core value at Your Co-op Little Pioneers, so we do everything we can to support our team. In addition to promoting the five ways to wellbeing, we run Wellbeing Wednesdays for our colleagues, highlighting a different wellbeing topic each week. We want to make sure everyone gets a say on how we support each other, so we also run a wellbeing survey. During the pandemic, we set up an ‘Isolation Conversation’ message board so we could all keep in touch with those who had to self-isolate. Our managers have the opportunity to complete Mental Health Training from MIND, the mental health charity. This has been really successful, so we’ve now opened up the training to all colleagues. In addition, everyone has access to GroceryAid resources, which include debt advice, benefits advice, cognitive behavioural therapy, telephone counselling, back to work support and legal advice.
Continuing the conversation
We hope you’ve found this article useful. If you have any questions about your child’s wellbeing and how you can support them, or you’d simply like to know more about our nurseries, please get in touch.
*UNICEF. (2018). Early Childhood Development: The Key to a Full and Productive Life.