How are you? 

Bush fires, flooding and now corona virus. What a year its been – and its only just April! Its perfectly okay if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed and stressed out right now! So really, How are you? And how are your kids?

This is a question I’ve been asking parents, and teachers, for a few weeks now. So I can tell you with certainty, that if you’re feeling overwhelm, stress, anxiety, worries, fear, frustration even grief, you are not alone. And it’s okay. 

We are living in unprecedented times, and we are all affected in some way. We are all dealing with our own difficulties and challenges brought on by this current situation and, if you’re struggling, one thing you can be sure of is YOU ARE NOT ALONE. 

I have begun a weekly online meeting place for parents to come together and support one another get through the difficulties we are facing. Community and social interaction is so important for our mental health, as we know, and right now, more than ever. To have a safe place to be able to show up with whatever emotions are churning in us and be seen, heard and felt, without judgment, is incredibly powerful. To also be able to ask for help in a community ripe with other parents, teachers and mental /emotional health experts adds additional support.

From these meetings I know that the challenges we are facing as parents, and educators, are huge, wide and varied. 

Coming from a place of passion in helping our children, parents and educators thrive, the thing I am most focused on is, how do we turn our current challenges around? How do we turn these difficult times into opportunities to grow? My interest is in how we don’t just survive amidst this crisis, but how we learn to thrive because of it. 

Our children are watching us right now. They’re watching how we deal with this. And our emotional reactions will affect theirs. So this is a huge opportunity to up our game in terms of our emotional and mental wellbeing and resilience. For ourselves, and for our children. 

Imagine if you will, that this current situation was amplifying all the things in you, which are holding you back from thriving more in your life. Imagine if your blind spots -those fears and worries and beliefs that no longer serve you, that you push to the side, bury or drown out somehow during your busy life..imagine if those aspects of you were now staring you straight in the face, seeping out of you at unexpected moments, laid out in front of you for you to have to deal with…

I can tell you from the parents I’ve talked to so far, this is seeming very relatable...

What are you going to do now? 

Well of course we always have a choice. You could pick it up, shove it back down and bury it, distract yourself from looking at it by any number of means…. Or you could seize this opportunity, pick it up and deal with it. Move forward. Grow.

So what is it for you?

Is it overwhelm? What would happen if we took this opportunity to stop and slow down a little, take stock of priorities and values and take some control back?

Is it your kids emotional health? Let’s take this opportunity to connect, hang out, listen to them and strengthen our bond with them. 

Is it that you’re living with your kids and their other parent who is now your ex? Wow, what an opportunity to work through that relationship and get it to where you’d like it to be and how you want to be as a family. 

Is it your own mental and emotional health? Fear? Anxiety? Grief? Frustration? Anger? Lets seize this opportunity to work on ourselves. 

The current playing field we find ourselves thrown into is fertile ground to sow the seeds of our mental and emotional wellbeing. To get to know ourselves, our children, our families, our communities, a little better. And if we seize this opportunity we will come out of this stronger, more resilient, more connected, more resourced, more aware and more conscious. We will be so much better equipped to thrive in our lives. Ourselves, and our children. 

We are committed to helping develop our children’s social and emotional intelligence and laying the foundations for our children to thrive, and this is a time where we need those skills the most.

So during this time we will be providing a number of…… and hosting…… for our parents, educators and children and we look forward to you joining us. Lets get through these crazy times together. Not just to survive, but in order that we can learn to thrive. 

Sally Boardman, BSc(Hons) MPhil(Psych), CEO at Our Thriving Kids, Neurochangesolutions Consultant for Dr Joe Dispenza and Professional Development facilitator for Life Skills Group.

Photo credits: Photo by Tim Goedhart on Unsplash