Since the schools closed for the majority of children during the fight against Covid-19 our idea of ‘normal’ life had been rocked, writes Sophie from Relax Kids North Cornwall, based in Bude.

Lockdown has meant that families are now navigating a new world of home schooling, juggling work and other commitments, they are separated from friends and family and Joe Wicks is now the PE teacher for the nation!

As a qualified primary school teacher with over 12 years’ experience, I now find myself teaching my own children which to be honest is the hardest class I have ever had to teach! Motivating two children is challenging and we have tried lots of different things during lockdown but the most important thing is their wellbeing and mine of course.

As a Relax Kids Coach, I usually work in schools delivering classes which focus on developing life skills to help wellbeing. The classes empower all ages to manage their own mental health by understanding about how the brain works, hints and tips for creating a calmer mind, positive thinking, developing resilience and promoting the importance of emotional health and wellbeing.

The classes look at understanding a range of emotions through stories, crafts, playing games, stretches, self and peer massage, learning breathing techniques, developing self-esteem and confidence.

Sadly, I can’t go into schools at the moment so here are some hints and tips for helping supporting your families wellbeing, please remember the different emotions of sadness, anger, grief, happiness etc are perfectly normal. Every family is different and their journey during this time will be unique to them but here are some ideas to help:

Move – exercise is so important for wellbeing, it doesn’t matter if it’s PE with Joe Wicks, a walk or bike ride, dancing around your kitchen, playing football in the garden etc. Do something that works for your family and doesn’t cost anything.

Play – take this time to make Lego models, be creative, play board games, learn new skills and generally connect with your children. They might surprise you in so many different ways.

Stretch – you don’t have to be an expert as there are brilliant free websites that can teach you everything you need to know. For example, you can follow the adventures on Cosmic Kids Yoga ­— www.cosmickids.com

Feel – most people like massages but everyone is different and won’t necessarily like their head massaged for example but you can learn simple massage techniques to help any age relax. The Story Massage Programme is adding stories that you can follow along with on their Facebook page — www.facebook.com/StoryMassageProgramme

Breathe – learning to breathe helps calms down your anxious brain. You can learn a variety of different breathing techniques but the Take 5 this is my favourite one that I teach everyone.

Believe – You have to believe in yourself and saying positive affirmation aloud each day will help you feel more positive eg I am calm, I am strong, I am brilliant. You can download a free Positive Affirmation Calendar from www.relaxkids.com/calendar

Relax – Make yourself a calm, relaxing place to stop and pause to reflect on how you are feeling. Get some blankets, cushions, lie on the floor or sit in a chair close your eyes and listen to one of the Relax Kids visualisations from the Calm Pack www.relaxkids.com/calminthechaos

Relax Kids have produced a free Calm Pack with more activities, meditations and affirmations on it that you can download at www.relaxkids.com/calm-pack.

For more hints and tips then please follow me on www.facebook.com/RelaxKidsNorthCornwallSophie