Celebrate their Identity
Celebrating who children are, and reminding them of their uniqueness, has a huge impact on their confidence and self-esteem. This week, remind them of what you love about them. You could revisit some photos and videos on your phone or computer of special times you’ve shared. Chat about the importance of finding time to do what they love; underline that it’s an important part of who they are.
Promote their Passions
It’s different for all of us, but every child has something which ignites their passions and brings them joy. Perhaps they love music and you could introduce them to a music making app? Or if they enjoy taking photos or making videos, use this week to set a photography or video competition at home with some fun categories.
Support their Interests
Some children seem to know instinctively what interest them and what they enjoy doing, others can be less decisive about hobbies. Spend some time this week sharing their interests and doing something connected to it together. You could make a short Lego film to post on your Instagram, a vlog about baking that you share with relatives, or just play with them on their favourite video game.
Help them Help Others
Some children love to express themselves through activities which help others. Perhaps your local area’s Facebook group has a community project that your family could get involved with – even as a one-off; it doesn’t have to be a long term commitment. Depending on your child’s age, you could introduce them to online fundraising, such as sites like JustGiving, and how it can make a difference to less fortunate people.
Social posts have the potential to change the character of one’s social lives, both on an interpersonal and a community level. Showcasing your interests, passions and opinions, as well as your suggestions on how to make the world a better place, can be done so quickly and easily, and be targeted to an audience of like-minded people who can help you refine, learn and develop.Sian Kerr, Head of Digital Learning
Enable Emotional Expression
Children sometimes need help in articulating how they’re feeling and in beginning to understand how to manage their emotions. A safe, healthy way for your child to explore their feelings is to let them conduct an activity – like listening to a story, or creating some art – and discuss with them afterwards how it made them feel. There are lots of stories available on YouTube and Audible. There are a plethora of fun art tutorials (if you log into YouTube on an adult account, remember to adjust your settings first to block inappropriate content and stop potentially unsuitable material playing!)
Let them Stay Connected
The online world is a fantastic space for staying in contact with those who we can’t be with right now. Young people are often very comfortable using social media to express themselves and stay connected by sharing their ideas, thoughts and feelings with friends. But bear in mind that most social media platforms require a child to be at least 13+ before they access it (WhatsApp is 16+ – more on that in the next blog!). Remind your child that, while it is ok to express who we are on social media, they should still always think before posting and that their self-worth is never measured by their number of likes, friends or followers.
Coach 'Safe Sharing'
As part of expressing themselves, your child may want to share something online that they’ve created – like a funny video, a sketch, a meme or a dance. If they’re too young to have their own social media, you could use your own account to share it with selected people who you trust. Emphasise the importance of only sharing content with people that your child knows well, like family and friends. This type of conversation is also useful for introducing young people to the risks and challenges that can come when expressing ourselves to a wider online audience of strangers.
