Self-care
Children look to adults in their life for comfort and reassurance when they are distressed. Children will also look to their parents, carers, and teachers to take the lead in how to view distressing events.
By looking after your own wellbeing you will be more able to provide support. It is important that parents and carers can access appropriate support themselves. This is especially if they have been directly involved in the events.
If you are upset by what has happened it may be more difficult to talk to a child about it. You may want to talk to another adult about what you feel. Or you might want to seek other sources of support. If you feel unable to talk about what happened you could ask another adult to help you and your family. This could be a family member or another trusted person.
It is important that all the adults involved have the same understanding of what occurred. Also, they need to keep to the same story so that the child is not confused.
For more information on wellbeing see the Lifestyle and Recovery Series . You can find this in the courses section of this website.
Some things to think about
- If you are not able to offer your child or children direct support, it may be that spending time together in other ways can be of immense benefit.
- Doing simple things together like watching a film, going for a walk on the beach or a drive together. Is there anything else you can think of?