anxiety Archives - Gabbitas

School holiday activities to benefit your child

Kim Hollamby — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 09:32:00 +0000

Autumn term is the longest term of the academic year. By the time children finish this term they will have gone through hours of studying, learning and performance pressure which can leave them fatigued, stressed or anxious. That is why using the winter holidays for relaxing and mindful activities is hugely beneficial to your child’s mental wellbeing as well as providing a good way to prepare them for the Spring term.

Often children try to find relaxation in front of mobile phones, gaming consoles, laptops or television. Little do they know, however, that excessive consumption of technology can have the exact opposite effect on them.

Spending time together as a family is a great way to counterbalance the use of too much technology. Here are some activities we suggest the whole family can get behind.

Make the most of Museums

With the cold and rainy weather outside, winter is the perfect month to visit some of the UK’s greatest Museums. While you might have already been to The British Museum or The National History Museum, why not consider some that are not as obvious but no less fun. Below are a few we have personally visited and recommend.

London Transport Museum

A very interactive museum, London Transport Museum is geared to welcome younger visitors by telling the history of London and its transport in a fun manner.

V&A Museum of Childhood

This museum offers a great experience to connect our children to toys of the past, present and possible future. The V&A Museum of Childhood

Roald Dahl Museum

As one of our favourite museums, the Roald Dahl Museum aimed at ages 6 to 12 allows children to look back at Dahl’s life and (re)discover his stories.

Taking a Winter Walk

We all know the befits of physical activity and the importance of instilling the love for the outdoors in our children. Choosing the right route is the most important thing to consider when teaching youngsters the benefits of the great outdoors. Think practical, fun and simple. Make sure to choose a route you know your children can complete before they get bored.

Finally, enjoy being outside with your family. Participate in finding animal tracks, looking for sticks and stones to collect or puddles to play in.

The Thrill of the Theatre

There are, of course, many more activities that families can enjoy together without the need of technology or screens. You might want to try organising a board game tournament with prizes for winners, or get crafty by making snow globes, festive buntings or even giving homemade Christmas crackers a go. Whatever you choose, however, doing it together as a family will contribute to not only your child’s overall happiness but also will facilitate relaxation, and mental preparation for next year.

We wish you a very happy festive season.

This article from Dilara Cabuk at at London-based education consultant, Gabbitas, first appeared in the December 2019 edition of Battersea & Wandsworth Life

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Relieving Autumn Term Fatigue

Kim Hollamby — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 12:15:10 +0000

Autumn term is the longest term of the year. By the end of this time, our children will have gone through hours of studying, learning and performance pressure which can leave them fatigued, stressed or anxious. That is why using the winter holidays for relaxing and mindful activities is highly beneficial to your child’s mental wellbeing as well as recalibration and a good way to prepare them for the coming term.

Often, our children try to find relaxation in front of their mobile phones, gaming consoles, laptops or television. Little do they know, however, that excessive consumption of technology can have the exact opposite effect on them. We have previously written about the impact of screen time on children and their development which you can read in our article Screen Time – The Importance of Balance.

Spending time together as a family is a great way to counterbalance the use of too much technology. Here are some activities we suggest the whole family can get behind.

Top Activities for Children during Winter Holidays

Make the most of Museums

With the cold and rainy weather outside, winter is the perfect month to visit some of the UK’s greatest Museums. While you might have already been to The British Museum or The National History Museum, why not consider some that aren’t as obvious but not less fun. Below are a few we have personally visited and recommend.

London Transport Museum

A very interactive museum, London Transport Museum is geared to welcome it’s younger visitors by telling the history of London and its transport in a fun manner. Children of all ages can see and learn about everything from rowing boats and paddle steamers to double decker buses, horse-drawn carriages and electric trams. There are activities in the Family Station at weekends and holidays.

V&A Museum of Childhood

This museum offers a great experience to connect our children to toys of the past, present and possible future. The V&A Museum of Childhood introduces children to popular toys such as construction sets, doll houses and old bricks. They also have a drop-in arts and crafts classes as well as very enjoyable story-telling sessions.

Roald Dahl Museum

As one of our favourite museums, the Roald Dahl Museum aimed at ages 6 to 12 allows children to look back at Dahl’s life and (re)discover his stories through quirky mementos and activities. Especially their interactive and play based story telling sessions are a must experience when you visit.

Taking a Winter Walk

We all know the befits of physical activity and the importance of instilling the love for the outdoors in our children. As simple as it sounds, often times motivating children for a walk outside can be challenging to say the least. To get everyone on board, we have compiled some tips that can help with making that first step out the door easier.

Choosing the right route is the most important thing to consider when teaching young ones the benefits of the great outdoors. Think practical, fun and simple. Make sure to choose a route you know your children can complete before they get bored. Amenities such as parking, lavatories, cafes and a pub that serves hot chocolate for a morale boost (or carrot) are also important to consider.

Planning your walk together can also be great fun. Do some research on the wildlife that can be encountered or work with your children to come up with an adventure story. Getting them excited before the walk actually happens is key.

Finally, enjoy being outside with your family. Participate in finding animal tracks, looking for sticks and stones to collect or puddles to play in.

The Thrill of the Theatre

One way to make Christmas truly magical and invoke love for the arts in children at the same time is to visit a Christmas show. Produced and directed with children in mind, theatre productions are fun for the whole family and often contain important lessons for the development of your little ones as well. It is a great and interactive way to take their minds off schoolwork and performance pressure while making sure they are still learning.

Some plays we can get behind are listed below. We do realise these are all bigger productions located in London, but there are others available in smaller locations as well which you can find out by getting in touch your local communities and counties.

Billionaire Boy at the Bloomsbury Theatre is a new staging of Dan Williams’ famous kids novel. The story is about a little boy who has all the money in the word but no one to play with. Then he makes some “normal” friends and adventures begin. Suitable for ages 5 and above.

The Pixie and the Pudding at the Little Angel Theatre in Islington is featuring this original folk story as a musical. The plot is around a “family who fall foul of a tricksy pixie” after forgetting to leave pudding out for a magical visitor. Suitable for children of 4 to 11.

The Canterville Ghost at the Unicorn Theatre in Borough is a child friendly version of Oscar Wilde’s witty 1887 novel. As a twist, the story is presented as a 21^st century adaptation with spooky effects. It is suitable for ages 7+.

Other activities for pupils and students on winter holiday break

We wish you a very happy festive season to come. ⠀

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Recognising and dealing with stress

Gabbitas Rep — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 15:14:50 +0000

As the exam season has drawn to a close and holidays are beginning, anxiety and stress may seem like a thing of the past few months. Nevertheless, for many the exam results themselves can bring about just as much stress an anxiety and what about all that holiday work that has been set for next term?

Longer term anxiety and stress is an issue which is seemingly impacting more and more young people. As the dialogue surrounding mental health and stress appears in our daily media how can we effectively help young people identify the factors that are causing them stress and anxiety and what practical support can we give children to deal with these stresses?

According to the NHS although it is normal for children to feel worries or anxious from time to time, the rise of specific anxiety disorders and long term stress is leading to further calls for professional support and importantly for parents and teachers to be able to recognise this type of stress or anxiety.

A recent paper from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University mentioned that “exposure to circumstances that produce persistent fear and chronic anxiety can have lifelong consequences by disrupting the developing architecture of the brain.” (JP Shonkoff et all). It is clearly important for parents and teachers to understand the causative factors and methods of dealing with stress and anxiety within children.

There are different types of anxiety many of which are particularly common in children and adolescents. With younger children phobias and separation anxiety can be common whilst particularly with adolescents social and school-based anxiety are according to recent research particularly prevalent. There are not always clear signs of anxiety and often parents can struggle to talk to their children about their mental health.

The Mental Health Foundation has published excellent material on how to understand some of the issues surrounding anxiety within children and adolescents. These include some of the signs of anxiety in children such as:

they are extremely shy, timid and clinging
they have real difficulties mixing with other children
they have difficulty getting off to and staying asleep
they have repeated nightmares (more than one a week)
they have repeated complaints of headache or stomach ache
they are constantly asking if things are all right or other ways of asking for reassurance

(The Mental Health Foundation 1997)

Parents can often tell if something is not quite right and combined with some of the above indicators it may be a good time to sit down and chat with your children. Associate Professor Chris Davey from the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health in Australia suggests being upfront and not skirting around the issues and suggesting that you have noticed that they have not been themselves recently. This direct approach can help your children discuss their feelings and allow you both to deal with them as they occur.

Nevertheless, many parents may find that their children, particularly teenagers, may not open up to them. This is not unusual and there are other routes to dealing with this and one of the biggest recent trends in education may provide an excellent answer.

Mentoring has seen a meteoric rise in recent years with parents seeking the benefits of young mentors to help their children with the general approach to their studies and organisation of their daily routines. These mentors have often proven to be much more than just excellent study guides though and often the trust and rapport which builds up between mentors and their mentees mean that they can be very well placed to talk to children and adolescents about their mental health. Although as a parent you may have found it difficult to talk to your children about their mental health it is important to understand that children may find it easier to open up to a non-family member like a mentor in order to discuss their anxieties.

Mentoring is something that has helped many students in the past with their studies but as the trending mental health issues in young people become more acute hopefully mentors will also be able to continue to provide support and a listening ear for children and adolescents who are struggling.

Gabbitas has a number of excellent mentors many of whom have specific experience dealing with children’s mental health issues and can provide not only excellent academic mentoring but also act as role models and provide support for children throughout their education.

If you have any concerns about mental health within children find out more information on the NHS Website

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Managing exam stress

Gabbitas Dubai Rep — Tue, 14 May 2019 13:52:48 +0000

Picture this, you’ve been studying hard for your exams but as soon as you walk into the exam hall, your mind goes blank. Your palms start to sweat, your heart rate quickens and you feel a deep pit in your stomach. These are classic signs of exam anxiety and sadly may mean you child’s scores don’t reflect the hard work they’ve put into preparing for the exam.

However, do not fear as there are some simple strategies to help! Sara Boomsma from Gabbitas Middle East shares some top tips for parents to help students manage anxiety during exams.

Be prepared

This may seem obvious but the more prepared your child is, the more confident they will be walking into that exam hall. Encourage them to utilise practice papers with exam conditions leading up to the real thing. This will help ensure they have practiced managing their anxiety during timed conditions.

Normalise exam stress

Talk to your child about exam stress being a perfectly normal thing. Share your experiences of sitting exams and how you felt leading up to and during them. Helping your child realise they are not alone and that feeling like this isn’t unusual will really help. Plus, mention that a bit of nerves can often be a good thing!

Remember, physical wellbeing helps mental wellbeing

One of the most important aspects of mental health is physical health. If you want your child to remain focused and resilient throughout the revision and exam season, make sure they are also prioritising their physical health too.

Early nights, eating healthy and exercise are all key aspects to this. Make sure as a parent you are rigorous with these as your child will often give up playing in their regular sports teams or going to bed at the usual time in order to make more time for study. But this will certainly not help in the long run!

Arrive early

There is nothing worse that feeling rushed when you are on the way to an exam. Make sure your child is packed and ready to go the night before and leave yourself plenty of time to get to the location. Don’t allow your child another reason to be anxious in the morning!

Read and read again!

Stress to your child to take their time and read through the questions carefully. There is nothing worse than getting halfway through a question and realising you are not on target. They have plenty of time so advise them to slow down and take their time when reading through the questions.

Don’t pay attention to others

Try to ensure your child resists the urge to look around the exam hall at what everyone else is doing – trust us, it won’t help! Encourage them to stay focused on their own timings and pace.

Watch the clock

Your child’s teachers would have talked through allocating a certain amount of time to each question to make sure they can get through everything on time. Often the longest essay questions which are worth the most marks will be at the end of the paper, don’t forget to leave time for these!

Think positive

Talk to your child about replacing unhelpful, negative thoughts with more encouraging self-talk by challenging worried and negative thoughts. Get a mantra going with your child on the morning of the exam with affirmations like “I have done my best” and “I will be OK, whatever happens” and “I can do this, I am confident”. Try utilising mindfulness techniques with your child to focus on the present task in hand rather than the “what if?”

Breathe!

A helpful strategy to share with your child is as follows: as soon as they sit down in the exam hall, take in five slow, deep breaths and imagine that you are breathing in warm, calming air and breathing out self-doubt.

Don’t talk about it afterwards

As soon as your child leaves the exam hall it can be so tempting to talk through each question in detail with their friends. Ensure you say to your child not to dwell on it and move on, they have their next exam to focus on after all!

We wish all students sitting exams over the next few months the very best of luck!

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