Here, former primary school teacher Catherine Lynch of leading education resources and lesson planning experts PlanBee, has ten tips for parents to improve the mental health of their children
5. Give your child a safe space they can go
Being at home together all the time can be quite intense. Create a den or something similar for your child to play in, and retreat to when they want to be alone. Photo: .
6. Be playful and have fun
Play fosters creativity, collaboration and problem solving, all of which are important for good mental health. Playing is a fantastic way to develop relationships and resilience. It also releases feel-good hormones. Children often explore areas they are finding challenging through their play; role play is a great example of this. Photo: .
7. Read stories together
Spend time together and lose yourselves in a good book. Act out stories and make up your own narratives. Use your imagination or add props. Let books take you where you cannot physically go. Photo: .
8. Adjust your expectations
We are in a very strange time. Adults and children alike have been affected by changes and as a result things we used to be able to cope with might feel like huge mountains to climb. We all have something called a window of tolerance. If your window is smaller than usual at the moment, go easy on yourself and take the pressure off. Allow yourself and your children to be less productive than normal, and give yourselves time to process what you are feeling. Photo: .