Superstar Practical Strategies - Life Skills 4 Kids

Episode 57 of the Superstar Practical Strategies helps parents check and manage if their child is experiencing anxieties while in recovery after the floods. After a flood, many families will take time to recover. This will depend partly on the level of trauma a family suffered during the actual event, and how quickly life can return to normal after the event. Children and young people don't always talk about what's going on inside, so check the list below to help you figure out if your child is anxious after the floods.

Unless you refuse to partake of any form of media, it's impossible to miss mentions of the war in Ukraine. The TV is constantly bombarding us with images of the conflict, and we see people just like us being forced to flee with their children and pets into a very uncertain future.

Kids see it, too. And it can cause or escalate anxiety, especially for children who are already prone to worrying. Fortunately, parents and carers can take steps to minimize the harm and equip kids with the skills they need to cope.

In episode 55 of Superstar Practical Strategies, Deb talk about how to manage anxiety when bad things happen because many children and adults are experiencing heightened worry and anxiety as our world faces wars and natural disasters, unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes. Our TVs and newsfeeds are full of bad news and terrible things happening to ordinary people just like us.

We must do what we can to manage our response to these things because it's the only way we can stay mentally healthy in a crazy world. This podcast will discuss tips for ways to help the whole family deal with the worry of living with events such as wars and floods. Managing anxiety over world events: tips for a stress-free life

In episode 54 of Superstar Practical Strategies, Deb talk about the importance of Goal Setting in the Family as well as tips on how to make it work. Goal-setting is the common theme of January as New Year's resolutions are made. Things start out well at the beginning of the month, but by the end of the month, many of our grand plans have fallen in a heap and we give up on the idea of achieving our goals.
So, what are some ways that you can make goals and keep them? How can you help your child to achieve some sustainable goals when it comes to life skills and learning?

In episode 53 of Superstar Practical Strategies, Deb talk about hidden anxiety among children is surprisingly high, undoubtedly because it often masquerades as something else. And without understanding what they're dealing with, the adults in a child's life are often not equipped to handle it in the best way for the child.

Anxiety arises when the amygdala, a small organ in the center of the brain, sends out signals chemical signals intended to give a person extra speed or strength in times of danger. It puts the whole body on high alert as it goes into "flight, fight, or freeze" mode whenever it perceives a threat.

But anxiety doesn't often wave a banner and announce its presence, especially in children. And unless a parent or carer knows what to look for, what is essentially a cry for help may go unrecognized.

So, what does hidden anxiety look like? (It's important to remember that each child is different and anxiety patterns are not uniform).

Covid anxiety is something no one has talked about much, especially when it comes to children and teens, who have been silently suffering from the side effects of the pandemic.

But research is emerging now that we are almost two years into the pandemic and it's revealing some grim truths about the effects of the social upheaval on the health and wellbeing of our younger generations.

Technology anxiety is real amongst children and young people who have been in lockdowns, back to face-to-face returning to the classroom and another change coming up - back into school holidays and the threat of the Omicron arriving in countries all over the world.

During the last 2 years, most children have been learning online or through an increased amount of screen time rather than face-to-face. For children with anxiety or worries about the problems in the world, this has often been less stressful than engaging in activities in the real world.

But what about when they return to face-to-face learning for a short time, and then back into school holidays shortly? And what is technology anxiety, anyway?

In Episode 50 of Life Skills 4 Kids, Deb is featured as a guest speaker in Julia Hasche podcast. Julia is a blogger, author, and mentor for single parents who also created the Single Mother Survival Guide in 2016.

Deb talks with Julia about some of the verbal cues and behaviours that children do when they are anxious. Deb also discusses about the ways on how we, as parents, can make it easier for our children who experience anxiety.

In this episode they cover:

•Defining anxiety and how would you know if your child might have it?
•Ways on Managing anxiety
•How life can be better for children with anxiety
•Signs/behaviors that your kids might unintentionally say or do leading to anxiety
•What is the difference between "normal kid behavior" vs anxiety
•Ways on how we can reduce anxiety in children
•Teaching Kids to Manage anxiety book

In Episode 49 of Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast, Deb talks with Julia Hasche, a blogger, podcast host, author, and mentor for single parents. She became a single mother in 2013 when her daughter was just a few months old and created the Single Mother Survival Guide in 2016.

In this episode they cover
- The challenges of single motherhood. Tackling feelings of loneliness, lifestyle changes, dating, co-parenting, and communication.

- Top tips to give to single moms especially in the grieving process.

- Finding your support and working on your mindset.

- Prioritizing self-care

In episode 23 of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast Deb talks with Michelle Dean, founder of Kallima. Michelle is a Children's Life Coach who specializes in helping kids learn how to express and process through complex emotions like anxiety in their day-to-day lives.


In this episode we cover:


•The importance of allowing space in your children's schedule to just be kids who run and play.
•Ways to address emotions in our kids.
•What resilience is and how to build it up in our kids.
•Some causes of anxiety in children as young as seven and how to reduce it.
Links:


•https://m.facebook.com/kallimaalbury
•https://kallima.com.au

In Episode 22 of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast, Bunny Marsh, speech pathologist and owner of Small Connections joins us again as we talk about the 5 things that speech pathologists wish parents knew. With over 20 years of experience, Bunny supports parents and carers in building up the communication development of young children.

In this episode we cover:

•Communication starts at birth.
•Parenting, life and development for children is a marathon not a race.
•The importance of having a support crew around you.
•Teaching conversational skills and promoting serve and return for growth and brain development.
•Making sure that their hearing is right.
•Understanding what your child is can be helpful in what your expectations can and should be.
•Sensory processing in children.
•The importance teaching toddlers feeling words.

Links:

•Small Connections Website
•PDF: Typical Milestones for Communication Development
•Small Connections Facebook
•Small Connections Instagram

In Episode 21 of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast, we have an engaging chat with Dr. Andrew Pennington of the Sanctuary Lifestyle Clinic on anxiety and mental health issues in children. We will be hearing a medical practitioner's point of view on kids' anxiety including statistics and causes. He will also be sharing very interesting information on how nutrition can both affect and help anxiety in children and his top tips on how to help anxious children.

In this episode we cover:

•The frequency of families and children who visit his clinic for anxiety.
•Common age of starting and increasing anxiety for children today.
•Statistics on the growing number of children and parents with anxiety disorders.
•Looking at the 2 causes of anxiety: genetic and environmental factors.
•The Sanctuary Lifestyle Clinic and its unique features versus traditional general practitioners.
•Working with children who are anxious about food and have restricted diets; and the deficits linked to that kind of difficulty.
•Nutrients that are important and beneficial for anxiety.
•Meaning of the "NEW START" Acronym.
•The importance of trust for the development of children's brains.
•Easy and actionable tips for parents to start helping their anxious child.

Links:

•Sanctuary Lifestyle Clinic Website
•Sanctuary Lifestyle Clinic Facebook
•Sanctuary Lifestyle Clinic YouTube
•Anxious to Calm Membership Group
•Deb's Book: Teaching Kids to Manage Anxiety: Superstar Practical Strategies

In episode 19 of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast, Wendy Moloney of Wisdom, Wit and Wonder joins us as she talks about relating and communicating with your teenagers. Her blog speaks to mothers who are looking for resources and inspiration to turn their motherhood frustration into a joyful parenting experience.

In this episode we cover:

•Wendy tells us about what her website is all about
•3 peak times of the day where teens struggle and how it differs with younger kids.
•How bedtime affects mornings for moms and kids.
•Tips for getting children out the door in the morning.
•How to make teenagers talk more to you.
•Teaching teenagers how to manage their money.

Links:

•Wisdom, Wit and Wonder Website
•Bonus: Connect with Your Teen
•Anxious to Calm Membership Group
•Deb's Book: Teaching Kids to Manage Anxiety: Superstar Practical Strategies

In Episode 18 of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast we are going to talk about something all parents have gone through - children having sensory meltdowns and tantrums. We know this can happen a lot and most of the time in the most embarrassing places. But how can we really tell the difference between a sensory meltdown and a tantrum? I'll be sharing some helpful tips with you on how to tell what's causing your child's behavior and how you can best manage it.

Links:

•Anxious to Calm Membership Group
•Deb's Book: Teaching Kids to Manage Anxiety: Superstar Practical Strategies

Episode 17 of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast is a continuation of our conversation in Episode 16 where we are going to talk about the "Just Right Kids Model" - the kids who communicate when they are anxious, frustrated or angry. I will be explaining each section of the model below to help you understand it better and apply it to your life to be able to better communicate with your child or children and vice versa.

Links:

•Download link of the Just Right Kids Model
•Anxious to Calm Membership Group
•Deb's Book: Teaching Kids to Manage Anxiety: Superstar Practical Strategies

In Episode 16 of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast we are going to talk about the importance of using visual communication for kids. It's a very effective tool for supporting and understanding kids especially when they are having a hard time communicating their feelings, when they're anxious, or struggling with behaviour. I'll be discussing the top 7 reasons why visual communication is key in the work that we do with children.

In Episode 15 of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast, I will be talking about a concept that I have been trying to incorporate into my family, mummy, and occupational therapist life since I came across it a couple of months ago called parenting with open hands and how it can help with anxiety in kids.

In this episode we cover:

•The meaning of parenting with open hands.
•I share my personal experience on my children struggling and feeling overwhelmed.
•Preparing ourselves, as parents, to help our children through these emotions.
•Things parents can do to support and guide their children.
•Listening and taking notice of children's cues for expressing their emotions.
•Challenging children and help them through it to prepare them for problem-solving.

Links:

•Anxious to Calm Membership Group
•Deb's Book: Teaching Kids to Manage Anxiety: Superstar Practical Strategies

In episode 14 of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast, Andrew Pratt, a 7th Day Adventist Church Pastor who has high-functioning autism and anxiety, joins us to give us a peek into his world and how he has gone through life with autism from childhood to adulthood.

In this episode we cover:

•The story of his diagnosis and how he knew about it.
•Educating children to do things better despite their diagnosis.
•His panic attacks when he was young.
•His pattern of extremes of exploding and shutting down.
•The importance of structure.
•His big stressors that increases his anxiety as an adult.
•The need for self-care.
•His doctors and therapists as a child
•Andrew's experience with depression.
•Advice for parents on how to talk to their children about autism diagnoses.
•Benefits of having autism.
•Creativity in autism.
•Dealing with anxiety.
•Top 3 tips for getting through autism daily.

Links:

•Anxious Kids Quiz
•Deb's Book: Teaching Kids to Manage Anxiety: Superstar Practical Strategies

In this episode of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast, Fleur Chambers, Founder of Harvesting Happiness, helps us become calmer despite the busyness of life. Harvesting Happiness is a community organization that supports mums, kids, and everyone in the community to wake up from the busyness and stress of life so they can see their life in more open and calm ways and respond more skillfully. She teaches mindfulness, meditation, and how to be more compassionate towards parents and their kids.

In this episode we cover:

•Fleur tells us more about Harvesting Happiness and the work she does through the organization.
•How small mindful moments can help mums decrease stress and overwhelm.
•Remembering how to have mindful moments throughout the day.
•Tips on how to go about your mindful moments.
•Awareness as the first step towards a strategy.
•The challenges of trying to become mindful.
•Mindfulness as a gateway to experiencing other positive resources.
•Finding out where and how to start and what works for you.
•The benefits of becoming mindful parents or a mindful family.
•The importance of talking to your children about mindfulness.
•Helping kids who are in a cycle of worrying or futuring.
•Interesting ideas for kids' bedtime.

Links:

•Harvesting Happiness Website
•Harvesting Happiness Facebook
•Harvesting Happiness Twitter
•Harvesting Happiness Instagram

In this episode of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast, we talk to Kyle Stretton from the Special Needs Super Moms TV. Kylie will share her experience about parenting children with and without special needs, the importance of self-care for parents and very helpful tips on mindset.

In this episode we cover:

•Kylie tells us about her TV Show and why she created it.
•She shares her experience having children with and without special needs.
•The importance of self-care for mums with special needs kids and how it affects situations in their lives.
•Parenting with open hands.
•Stress-free strategies and techniques for parents to do when they are feeling anxious or when they need a break.
•Things to do 1 hour before going to bed.
•Tips on mindset.

Links:

•Special Needs Super Mums Website
•To get Kylie's free ebook, head over to the website: Special Needs Super Mums Website.
•Deb's Book: Teaching Kids to Manage Anxiety: Superstar Practical Strategies

In this episode of the Life Skills 4 Kids Podcast, we talk to Pastor Darren Pratt on the importance of a village and mentoring in our child's life. We also touch on the topics knowing how to identify if your child is lacking a village and how to build a strong tribe for them.

In this episode we cover:

•Who is in a child's life and how important this is.
•The challenge of the loss of the village around our children.
•How children spell love in a different way.
•Things that we can do with our children be more invested in their lives.
•Where to find a new tribe or village for our children.
•The 5:1 Ratio.
•One of the biggest disease today in society: loneliness.
•The negative effects of screentime.
•The meaning of and the effects on a child of Age Apartheid.
•Identifying kids who have or have less villages in their lives.
•The challenge in schools lacking male teachers.
•Taking stock of our child's village.
•Tips on how to increase your child's village.

Links:

•Deb's Book: Teaching Kids to Manage Anxiety: Superstar Practical Strategies
•The Power Of Mentoring Children Booklet

Having an anxious child can really get to parents. Seeing our children struggling about something triggers different personal reactions for each of us. As parents, we often hold it together despite feeling overwhelmed, sad, etc. inside. It is, after all, really hard to bare our true feelings to others. But through sharing these feelings, we can be stronger and support each other with our children.

I recently held a survey online on how parents feel about their anxious child and in this episode, I'll be sharing the results with you. Here's an overview of what was asked in the survey and some tips, ideas and strategies on helping your children:

•Feelings of parents when they think about their anxious child.
•The wishes of parents for their families and for themselves.
•Parents' activities for self-care.
•Common feelings of parents from the results of the survey.
•Tips, ideas and strategies for activities, homework time, transitions from screen time, etc.

Links:

•Life Skills 4 Kids Website
•Life Skills 4 Kids Blog