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Kidz Magic Edens Crossing August 2020 Newsletter

 We hope this month's newsletter finds all our lovely families well. There are less than 2 weeks of winter left, then we begin to see those warmer days and nights and hopefully a little bit of rain to green up the grass and give the spring flowers a nice boost.

We have had a few new families join us in the past month, so welcome to you all.

We are so happy to announce that we are opening our 5th and final room next month. This will happen from Monday 7th September. Rolls and staffing for the 5 rooms are currently being finalised and these details will be placed outside each of the rooms within the next week to allow staff, parents and children some transition time.

Dates to Remember

17th August – Premiers Reading Challenge begins

                   National Science week

26th August – Book Character Dress up day. Come dressed up as any book character. Book Week has been postponed but we have decided to still have our dress up day. This will also align with the Premiers Reading Challenge.

1st September – Dental 2 U visit – please remember to complete a consent form as soon as possible. These are in the foyer by the sign in tablet.

6th September – Father's Day

7th September – Our final room opens

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to speak to Centre Manager - Suzie or 2IC – Chandell or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Staffing

It is with much sadness that we announce that Amy has decided to leave us with her last day being 18th August. Leena will be taking over from Amy in the kitchen as from 19th August. We wish Amy and her family all the best with their future adventures together.

Absent for the day or arriving after 10.00am

If your child will be away for the day or will be coming into the centre after 10.00am can you, please let us know. This would be greatly appreciated to assist with meal preparation and staffing allocations.

Connecting with our community

Please feel welcome to donate non-perishable foods, toiletries or personal items to our Community Pantry. We have had remarkable success with this since we opened in February with the contents being donated to Keeping the Faith Ipswich– Feed the Homeless and we are keeping this collection an ongoing project. Let's work together and fill the basket for those in the community who need assistance. Thank to those who have donated to our collection already. It is very much appreciated.

TEACHING YOUR CHILD TO COPE

Coping skills can be taught, and with depression rates on the rise among young people, learning them is more important than ever. Stress is part of everyday life and coping is how we deal with stress, but just as there are stresses that are particular to different contexts and stages of development, so is coping contextually, culturally, and developmentally determined.

While there is no right or wrong way to cope, since the situation determines the best strategies that are available at the time, there are helpful and unhelpful ways to deal with the stresses of everyday life. Coping with stress is part of everyday life – but some strategies are more helpful than others. In particular, we know that people matter, and that relationships and belonging are important protective factors that can help us cope with adversity. Having warm and secure relationships in childhood is a good predictor of close relationships when you are an adult. This is not just about having good parent–child relationships, but also about having a good relationship with at least one sibling.

Researchers have found that genetics matter, and that temperament in infancy is an important predictor of coping and adjustment in later years.

But a child's resilience is not pre-determined – coping skills can be taught, and there are many factors that support their development. What was once considered to be intuitive learning through life experience can now be explicitly taught as coping skills, to equip young people for their social emotional journey through life.

Advanced language and motor development skills are protective factors for children, so encourage language in young children through activities like conversations and word games. Motor skills can be developed through age appropriate physical activities including play and sport.

Better reading and problem-solving abilities are also protective factors. We know that reading to young children and encouraging reading related activities like visiting libraries or information gathering are helpful.

Resilient boys tend to come from homes where there is structure and rules, so think about having sensible helpful rules for living together and communicate these along with expectations clearly.

Resilient girls seem to emphasise independence and receive reliable support from caregivers, so consider offering opportunities for decision making and make it clear that support is available if required. Asking the question, "how can I/we help?" is one way of reassuring a child that support is available.

The community also provides protective factors including caring neighbours, mentors and youth leaders, so think about how your family can be involved in community activities like sporting and recreational pursuits that bring people together.

Good parent–child relationships are critical, so being an available good listener is important. Consider how your family enjoys celebrations and having family fun time. Remind each other of the events you have enjoyed together with photographs. Also, including family members in conversations when key decisions need to be made makes everyone feel valued and their opinions respected.

Young children, even pre-schoolers, can start to learn coping skills by talking about situations they encountered and how they coped and other ways they may cope in future.

Ideally, young adolescents will be taught coping skills, to equip them with a broad range of resources before the middle years of high school.

Providing a booster in the latter stage of schooling in preparation for the more challenging and serious final examination period, and also for the successful transition to adulthood, is ideal. This could involve reviewing the helpful coping strategies that have been used to date and whether they are being used to deal with the challenges of the senior years of school. Time management and organisation skills become increasingly important at this age.

The rates of depression among young people are on the rise, most likely because of a range of reasons including greater awareness of depression and the challenges of contemporary life.

It is difficult to predict what lies ahead from each year to the next. Nevertheless, becoming increasingly aware of your own coping capabilities, both personal and the resources that you can call on, are very reassuring.

Sourced from the book, Promoting Resilience and Wellbeing by Professor Erica Frydenberg. Published by Routledge.

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