Month: March 2025

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How can I support my child with anxiety

Anxiety is becoming increasingly common in both adults and children. It can affect anyone at any time, making everyday situations feel overwhelming. 1 in 6 children may experience anxiety at some point in their life. From separation anxiety to social fears and phobias, anxiety can manifest in different ways and significantly impact a child’s wellbeing. If left unchecked, severe anxiety can interfere with a child’s ability to learn, concentrate, and build confidence in social situations. In extreme cases, it may even prevent them from wanting to go to school or take part in activities they once enjoyed. Signs of anxiety Every child experiences anxiety differently, but here are some common signs to look out for:

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Feeling fearful, panicky, or overwhelmed

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Complaining of stomach aches, chest pains, or feeling “butterflies” in their tummy

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Feeling breathless, sweaty, or dizzy

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Appearing tense, fidgety, or struggling to relax

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Frequently needing the toilet

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Avoiding certain situations or showing signs of distress How to help If your child is experiencing these symptoms regularly, it’s important to take early steps to help them manage their worries. Here are some simple ways you can help your child feel calmer and more in control: Create a safe space – Encourage your child to talk about their worries in a supportive, non-judgemental way. Acknowledge their feelings and help them find solutions together. Practise relaxation techniques – Breathing exercises, mindfulness, and guided relaxation can help children reduce stress and feel more secure. Use creative expression – Drawing, storytelling, and play can be powerful ways for children to express emotions they struggle to verbalise. Encourage physical activity – Movement, whether it’s dancing, yoga, or simply running around outside, helps release tension and boost mood. Prioritise rest and routine – A consistent bedtime routine with calming activities can support better sleep and reduce anxious feelings. Relax Kids meditation – Regular relaxation helps calm children down and help them feel more in control. Regular listening to Relax Kids not only eases anxiety but can also help prevent it from becoming a bigger problem in the future. We have created a unique ANXIETY Management pack to support your child. It is filled with resources and a 45 mins MP3 to play to help relax your child. What’s included?

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Guided Relaxation audios – Designed to gently reduce anxiety and build emotional resilience

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Relaxing Activities – Children can colour in as they develop positive strategies to manage their anger.

Instant Download – A quick and easy way to support your child’s well-being You’ll receive the full relaxation album plus a comprehensive resource pack filled with helpful tools to support your child’s mental well-being.

Download the Relax Kids Anxiety Pack Now

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World Water Day: Why It Matters and How You Can Help

Every year, on 22nd March, we celebrate World Water Day – a special day to remind us how important water is and why we need to take care of it.

World Water Day 2025: Save Our Glaciers!

This year’s theme is ‘Glacier Preservation’.

Glaciers are huge ice mountains that store fresh water. When they melt, the water helps people, animals, and plants survive. It’s used for drinking, farming, making energy, and keeping our planet healthy.

But glaciers are melting too fast because of climate change. This can change water supplies, harm wildlife, and make life harder for people all over the world.

We need to work together to protect our glaciers by reducing pollution and looking after our planet.

Why Water is So Important

Did you know that one in four people around the world don’t have clean water to drink? Dirty water can make people sick, stop children from going to school, and make life very difficult for families.

When we look after nature, we help keep our water clean and safe!

How Can We Help?

One big problem is plastic pollution. Every year, about 12 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean! This hurts sea animals and makes the water dirty.

But we can all make a difference! Here are some easy ways to help:

✅ Use a refillable water bottle instead of buying plastic ones
✅ Say no to plastic straws
✅ Take a reusable shopping bag instead of a plastic one

Every little action helps!

Let’s Protect Our Water!

Water is precious, and we all need to do our part to protect it. What will you do to help?

To learn more about World Water Day, visit: worldwaterday.org 🌍💙

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Lots of Socks for World Down Syndrome Day! 🧦💙💛

Every year, on 21st March, the world unites to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD)—a day dedicated to raising awareness and advocating for the rights, inclusion, and well-being of people with Down syndrome.

🧦 Why 21st March?

This special date (21/3) represents the unique triplication of the 21st chromosome, which causes Down syndrome.

🧦 How Can You Get Involved?

Join the #LotsOfSocks campaign! Wear your brightest, funkiest, or oddest socks to spark conversations and raise awareness. Whether you’re on the school run, commuting to work, or on your lunch break, every little action helps.

📸 Snap a photo & share it online!
Use #LotsOfSocks and #WDSD25 on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to amplify the movement and show your support.

For more details, visit the official World Down Syndrome Day website: https://www.worlddownsyndromeday.org

Let’s celebrate diversity, raise awareness, and make some noise for inclusion! 🎉💙💛 

#ImproveOurSupportSystems

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Are you happy?

We all have down days and up days, but this Thursday is a day to celebrate.

Thursday 20th of March is International Day of Happiness, a global celebration dedicated to inspiring and encouraging a worldwide movement towards greater happiness and wellbeing. 

Happiness is one of the most fundamental human emotions, and this year’s theme, ‘Sharing Happiness’, highlights the significance of relationships, kindness, and supporting one another.

Here are some ways to share happiness on this special day.

Meditation

Meditation is a wonderful way to channel your inner happiness. Taking just 3-5 in the morning or evening to practise meditation can help clear the mind, reduce stress, and improve concentration. 

Try it outside with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Gratitude Lists

Do you reflect on what you are truly grateful for? 

It is easy to overlook the everyday blessings in our lives. 

Writing a short gratitude list each evening – appreciating your body, your hands, your clothes your house or the kindness of a stranger – can significantly enhance happiness and foster a positive mindset.

Get a notebook and encourage everyone in the family to add to it daily.

Start a Journal

Journalling, much like gratitude lists, allows you to express thoughts and emotions. 

Find a notebook you love, grab a pen, and start writing! 

Jot down your daily experiences, aspirations, or anything that is on your mind. 

Seeing your thoughts on paper can provide clarity, reduce stress, and help you track personal growth. 

It is also a great way to work through any unhappy episodes and help reach contentment.

Random Acts of Kindness

One of the simplest ways to boost your own happiness is by spreading joy to others. 

Engaging in random acts of kindness, no matter how big or small, creates a ripple effect of positivity. 

Try a Random Act of Kindness and see how it impacts on your happiness.

Maybe buy a stranger a coffee or leave a thoughtful note for someone or even just smile… it all contributes to a happier world.

Here are some more ways Boost Happiness

  • Movement  Release some endorphins, the “feel-good” hormones with a short walk outside or a quick dance session to uplift your mood.
  • Connecting with Loved Ones Spending time with family and friends can strengthen relationships and enhance happiness.
  • Laughter  Watching a funny video, sharing jokes, or being around people who make you laugh is an instant mood booster.
  • Digital Detox Taking breaks from social media and screens helps you stay present and reduces stress caused by comparison.
  • Spending Time in Nature Fresh air, sunshine, and greenery have incredible benefits for mental wellbeing, so take time to enjoy the outdoors.

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Celebrating Neurodiversity Week – Affirmations to Empower Every Child

Neurodiversity Week is a time to celebrate the many ways our brains work and to recognise the unique strengths of neurodiverse children. 

However each child’s brain works, they deserve to feel valued, accepted, and empowered. 

At Relax Kids, we have seen children thrive when they see their qualities and are deeply appreciated for who they are.

Affirmations really do Matter..

When children are affirmed for who they are, their sense of self develops in a healthy way. 

We have seen children come out of their shells when they have been showered with affirmations and learn to say them to themselves.

Affirmations are powerful tools that help children build self-esteem, develop a positive mindset, and feel more confident in their abilities. 

Neurodiverse children often experience challenges such as feeling misunderstood, struggling with sensory overload, or facing difficulties in traditional learning environments. 

Positive affirmations can be a source of strength, helping them navigate the world with resilience and self-acceptance.

Affirmations for Neurodiverse Children

Here are some affirmations to help neurodiverse children embrace their uniqueness and feel confident in who they are:

🌟 I am unique, and that makes me special.

🌟 My brain works in amazing ways.

🌟 I am loved just as I am.

🌟 I bring creativity and new ideas to the world.

🌟 I am brave, even when things feel challenging.

🌟 I deserve kindness and understanding.

🌟 I am more than enough.

🌟 I learn in my own way, and that’s okay.

🌟 I am proud of who I am.

🌟 I have so much to offer the world.

Creating a Supportive Environment

Alongside affirmations, creating a supportive environment at home, in schools, and in the wider community is crucial for neurodiverse children. Here are some ways we can support them:

Embrace their strengths – Focus on what they do well and encourage their talents.

Provide sensory-friendly spaces – Offer quiet areas, fidget tools, or noise-cancelling headphones if needed.

 Encourage self-expression – Allow children to communicate in ways that feel comfortable for them.

Be patient and understanding – Recognise that every child processes the world differently.

Celebrate differences – Teach children that diversity makes our world a richer, more wonderful place.

💙 What affirmations do you love to use with your children? Share them in the comments! 💙

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🍀 A St. Patrick’s Day Meditation for Gratitude and Good Fortune 🍀

St. Patrick’s Day is a time for celebration, connection, and gratitude. 

While many associate the holiday with luck, it’s also a wonderful opportunity to pause and reflect on the blessings in our lives. 

True luck isn’t just about four-leaf clovers and pots of gold – it’s about appreciating the people, experiences, and comforts that make life meaningful. This simple meditation exercise is designed to help you or your children cultivate gratitude and embrace the feeling of being truly lucky. 

Try this with your child today… Close your eyes and be very still. 

Take in a deep breath and breathe all the way out.  

Breathe in slowly and breathe out slowly. Now think of all the things in your life that you are grateful for.  

Think about having a home to keep you warm and safe, having people in your life that love you.  

Think about how lucky you are to have good food.  

Spend some time saying thank you quietly in your mind. Now think about all your possessions and how lucky you are to have clean clothes and toys.  

Think about your favourite toy and feel so grateful and lucky. Now, think about your friends and people that you laugh and play with.  

Feel yourself smiling inside as you think about your friends and how lucky you are to have special friends. Spend a few moments thinking about all the special adventures and experiences that you have had recently.  

Where have you been that was special.  

What did you do that made you feel happy inside.  

Stay still and really appreciate how lucky you are to have these experiences. As you sit there quietly, feel very calm and appreciative.  

Feel a warm feeling of gratitude surround you like a blanket.  

Continue to breathe in and out gently as you feel grateful and happy. See how long you can keep this feeling for.

Have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day, filled with family and friendship and a sprinkle of magic and fortune. ☘️

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Full Moon March 14th in Virgo

The full moon is often linked to heightened emotions and altered sleep patterns. Children often struggle with sleep and emotions can be heightened. 

Despite the negative affects on our sleep and emotional sensitivities, the full moon does give us an opportunity for introspection and self-care.

You can ponder the questions, or even journal or create some art around them. Some people have a moon journal and use the questions to help them focus on their goals and dreams.

The Full Moon in Virgo on March 14th is extra special as it’s accompanied by a Lunar Eclipse. Virgo is the sign of meticulousness, service, and health.

Here are some questions to ask yourself at this time,

What areas of my life need more attention to detail and organisation?

How can I improve my health and well-being through mindful habits?

How can I be of greater service to others during this time of heightened sensitivity?

I hope you can make a few minutes to think about these questions which will help you make the most out of the Full Moon.

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Developing Children’s Emotional Awareness

When children bottle up their negative feelings, the feelings eventually find a way to surface – a tantrum, sleepless nights, tummy aches,change in appetite or personality.

Stress can also attack children’s immune systems, leaving them more vulnerable to illnesses and infections, as well as slowing down recovery time when they do get ill.

This is because stress causes our bodies to release a hormone called cortisol, which suppresses the immune system. But children don’t get stressed… Do they?

When I first started Relax Kids, this was what so many parents said and they didn’t see the point of relaxation. However, we know that 1 in 10 children are struggling with stress (BBC Health).

Reasons for child stress…
School work
Family break-ups
Fall-outs with friends
Low self-esteem
Bullying
Pressure to succeed.

Children can also pick up on their parents’ stress and absorb some of those negative feelings themselves!

So if you are facing extra pressure at work, going through financial difficulties, or there’s any other reason why you are particularly stressed, it’s important to first check your own stress levels and then talk to your child about how they are feeling.

How can I get my child to open up? This is a question that we often hear. Children often don’t know how to express how they are feeling – and often they don’t have the words for it! For example, many children are not familiar with the concept of stress, so they may say that they are feeling angry or annoyed instead.

Here are a few tips to help your child feel more relaxed to talk about their feelings.

Create a Safe Space: Make time for one-on-one conversations without distractions. Ensure they know they won’t be judged for their feelings. Regularly ask open-ended questions like, “How was your day?” or “What’s on your mind?” rather than just “Did you have a good day?”.

Active Listening: Pay attention to their body language as well as their words. Avoid interrupting or offering immediate solutions. Reflect back what you’ve heard to show you understand. For example, “It sounds like you were feeling a bit worried when…”

Help Them Name Their Feelings: Use feeling charts or books to help them identify and express emotions. When they describe a feeling, offer alternative words to expand their emotional vocabulary. For younger children, using toys or puppets to act out different emotions can be very helpful.

Model Emotional Awareness: Talk about your own feelings in an age-appropriate way. Show them healthy ways to manage stress and difficult emotions. If you are having a hard time, let them know in a age appropriate way, and let them see you taking healthy steps to deal with it.

Encourage Creative Expression: Provide opportunities for them to express themselves through art, music, or writing. These activities can help them process and understand their emotions. Be Patient and Persistent: Building emotional awareness takes time and effort. Don’t give up if they don’t open up immediately. Make talking about feelings a regular part of your routine.

Check in on Stress levels: Especially around times of change, such as starting a new school, or after a family event. Look for changes in sleeping, eating, or behaviour

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The reason why bees can help children regulate

Recently, I spoke with head teacher Jim Dees who missed our Zoom appointment because he was helping a pupil through an emotional episode. He had taken the child for a walk in the garden to visit the school beehive. He loves bees and always regulates around them.

I said he had done the right thing as bees buzz at a frequency that is healing and calming. Jim hadn’t heard about this and was keen to study more. Bees hum at frequencies believed to have healing properties, particularly when buzzing in the key of C. The note of C is linked to the root chakra, which influences our sense of security and stability. An unbalanced root chakra can lead to anxiety and stress, while a balanced one fosters emotional strength.

One way to balance this chakra is by tuning into the frequency of C, either through music or nature sounds. So immersing in the sounds of a beehive might be a beneficial experience for emotional regulation. As an aside, we all remember learning the C scale first and it felt reassuring in some ways. Anecdotal evidence suggests that listening to humming bees can help individuals with PTSD by promoting relaxation and inner peace.

While scientific studies on this phenomenon are limited, many personal testimonies highlight the positive effects of bee sounds. It’s important to note that not all bees buzz at the same frequencies; honeybees typically hum between 250-300 Hz, while bumblebees range from 200-250 Hz.

Seasonal changes and the bees’ mood can also affect their buzzing. For those unbothered by bees, exploring their soothing sounds could be a beneficial experience by listening to recordings of the sounds of bees.

If there is space and people to look after it, getting bees might just be beneficial for your school as well as the environment. And the best news is, this young pupil wants to be a bee keeper and so the head teacher is looking into how he can help look after this hive. Win/win all round. #bees #anxiety #mentalhealth #schools #headteacher #beehive

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Rewiring your brain

Have you ever experienced that a single negative event can turn a perfectly good day into a write off?

Our brains are intrinsically wired to prioritise negative experiences.. It’s a survival mechanism that we have to blame our hunter-gatherer ancestors for.  Their brains were constantly scouting for threat.

Sadly, we seem to be bound by this negativity bias. If someone tells us 5 good things about ourselves but points out a bad, we will only remember the bad.

However, the good news is that we can actually rewire our brains to adopt a more positive outlook!

Studies have demonstrated the brain’s neuroplasticity – its ability to structurally reorganise itself through repetition and patterned activity. This means we can, in essence, reprogramme our neural pathways.

When you learn a new skill, like tying your shoelaces, neurons (nerve cells) in your brain form new synaptic connections. This process involves the transmission of electrochemical signals from one neuron to another, creating a neural circuit, a bit like a newly formed pathway in a dense forest.

Each time you reactivate this circuit (tie your shoelaces), the synaptic connections become stronger, making it easier for neurons to communicate. This reduces the cognitive effort required. After repeated activation, the skill becomes automatic, requiring minimal conscious thought – it becomes “second nature”. This is a process of myelination, where a fatty substance coats the nerve fibres, speeding up signal transmission.

This principle applies to positive thinking and behaviours. By actively practicing positivity, we strengthen the neural pathways associated with positive emotions and thought patterns. Over time, our brains become predisposed to react positively to situations. We can grow our own positive brains

Grow a positive brain by….

Practicing gratitude

Consciously acknowledge and appreciate the positive aspects of your life. Maintain a gratitude journal and record at least three positive experiences each day. Remember, consistent repetition reinforces the neural circuits associated with gratitude.

Performing acts of kindness

Engage in acts of kindness daily, no matter how small. This could involve writing a thoughtful note or offering a sincere compliment. Kindness activates reward pathways in the brain, releasing neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, which promote feelings of well-being.

Thinking positive

Even in challenging situations, look for the gold and find positive aspect or potential benefit. This helps to shift your cognitive focus and reduce the impact of negative emotions.

And remember if if you say something negative to yourself or to others, remedy this with 5-10 positive statements.

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How to keep the colds and bugs away

We’re still in the cold and flu season and children can be super spreaders at home and at work if you’re lucky enough to work with children. In this last push before spring, here are some tips to boost your immunity and help ward off the germs.

Sleep When we’re overtired (and emotional), we’re more susceptible to illness so try to aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep and do everything you can before bed to ensure good sleep. (dim lights, cool room etc) Nutrition Keep eating the rainbow to ensure you get vitmins and antioxidants that support immune function. Ensure you have enough protein for cell repair and good immune system function.

Gut Health is becoming more and more important and so ensure you enjoy Yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and fiber-rich foods to support your gut biodiversity. Reduce sugar that can weaken the immune system and contribute to inflammation.

Hydration It is much harder to drink water in the winter when we’re not sweating, but try and keep drinking to flush out toxins and keep mucous membranes moist as these are your first defence against germs.

Relaxation Stress can weaken the immune system and so it is vital to find ways to manager your stress – exercise, meditation, or spending time in nature. Starting a regular meditation practice can also bring calm to the Through relaxation, the nervous system can tell the immune system to settle down and stop attacking the foreign bodies. When the immune system backs off, inflammation and mucus decrease and symptoms diminish. Relaxing the nervous system has been shown to help direct the immune system to attack the viruses and bacteria that increase in colder weather. If children are given the opportunity to totally relax their bodies and immune systems, they will have such a powerful tool that they can use throughout their lives.

Relax Kids offers children and parents an easy and magical way to rest, relax whilst building up a strong immune system. When children meditate or relax, they go into a state of peace and calm. When they listen to Relax Kids relaxations, they experience positive feelings and so release natural endorphins which help build the immune system. So a daily dose of Relax Kids meditations is just what they need, not only to help improve sleep and general behaviour, but help fend off colds.

Three ways to boost your child’s immune system are lots of exercise, laughter and lots of healthy and fresh food. Want some relaxation tips? Get them sent to your email every week. Join the Break