PARENT & CARER FAQS
Click a question below to be taken to the corresponding answer.
- Why is resilience and wellbeing important?
- Why and how is this relevant to curriculum?
- How much time does the program take?
- What does this program look like in the early years environment? What will my child be doing?
- How do parents/carers do the program too?
- What is gratitude, empathy, mindfulness and emotional literacy? Why these?
- Is there a best time of day to practice gratitude, empathy, mindfulness and emotional literacy?
- My child has a diagnosed mental illness. Will this interfere with/ replace our current supports/strategies?
- I'm concerned my child may be experiencing mental ill-health, where can I go for help?
- Children who are not healthy emotionally will have difficulty learning. When we are stressed, the part of our brain responsible for learning does not function effectively.
- Calm children can focus and retain more information.
- Resilience enables children to take safe risks without fear of failure.
- The statistics indicate that the number of adults struggling with mental ill health has increased over the years.
- Statistics also tell us that mental ill health is affecting young people at alarming rates and the onset is getting earlier. Prevention is the key to seeing these figures improve.
The Resilience Project Early Years curriculum has been produced to align with the 5 outcomes in the Early Years Learning Framework.
- Children have a strong sense of identity.
- Children are connected with and contribute to their world.
- Children have a strong sense of wellbeing.
- Children are confident and involved learners.
- Children are effective communicators.
- Each session includes 2-5 short activities designed to complement the service’s play based program.
- Each service will introduce the program in a structure that works best for their programs and cohorts.
- Educators may choose to complete some or all of the activities for each session depending on their group of children. Activities may be revisited at any time. Educators can move onto the next session at any time.
- Your child will complete a variety of activities that introduce them to The Resilience Project’s key principles of Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy.
- The activities will give them a chance to practice these concepts, individually and in groups.
- Children will be encouraged to develop positive wellbeing habits by practising these concepts on a regular basis outside of their TRP lessons. You can play a big role in supporting this at home.
We know that parents and carers often prioritise the health and wellbeing of others before their own. It’s really important to practice regular self-care and our positive mental health strategies are applicable to people of all ages. Here are some ways you can get involved:
- Families will be invited to participate in 3x community projects throughout the year.
- Each child will bring Cozy Koala home once throughout the year. Families will engage in some GEM activities with Cozy in their home.
- TRP@Home via our website contains a wealth of helpful resources as well as regularly updated activities specific to Kids, Teens, Adults and Parents which you can use with the family or in your own life.
- Families can access the parent/carer hub.
- Regular gratitude practices have been proven to increase the number of positives you notice in your day. The Resilience Project 21 Day, 6 Month and Family Journals are a great way to do this and are available through our website.
- The Resilience Project app is another convenient way to regularly practice the GEM+EL principles and is available on iTunes and Google Play.
- The Imperfects podcast, led by Hugh van Cuylenburg, Ryan Shelton and Josh van Cuylenburg, is all about how perfectly imperfect we all are. Hugh, Josh and Ryan chat to a variety of interesting people who bravely share their struggles and imperfections, and we all learn some valuable take-aways we can apply to our own imperfect lives.
- We encourage you to have conversations with your kids about the program and how they are integrating gratitude, empathy, mindfulness and emotional literacy into their lives. Embedding positive mental health practices and language across school and the home lead to greater benefits and understanding.
Gratitude is about paying attention to, and being thankful for, the things we have.
Empathy is about understanding others’ feelings and perspectives and being kind to others.
Mindfulness is about bringing our attention to the present moment and being aware of our thoughts, emotions and surroundings.
Emotional Literacy is about labelling our emotions as we experience them and increasing our emotional vocabulary.
There is a wealth of supporting academic research on the mental and physical benefits of these strategies. More information can be found on the References & Reading section of our website.
These are strategies that can be practiced any day, at any time of day.
If these concepts are new to you, building a routine to practise them can support wellbeing. Picking a time of day – for example first thing in the morning, or after dinner – can be helpful to create a new habit and give structure to your wellbeing journey.
The Resilience Project’s programs are prevention-based and will not replace any formal treatment your child may be accessing.
The Resilience Project program should not cause any interference with your child’s current plan in fact the strategies your child learns will most likely benefit them. However, we would encourage you to let your child’s mental health professional know that they are completing the program at school and seek their guidance on this.
Likewise it would also be helpful if you let your child’s teacher know about your child’s plan (if you haven’t already) so that the teacher can keep a close eye out.
- The Resilience Project is not a treatment or assessment service.Â
- If you are worried about your child;
- Speaking with your General Practitioner is a great place to start.
- The School wellbeing team may be able to assist you with local support services that work with young people.
- Websites such as Beyond Blue and Headspace have some great resources and information, too.
