Experience of working in a CAMHS environment, helped families manage their emotions and live happier lives – Lynne Byrne
My name is Lynne and I have been a Relax Kids coach for just over two years. I am originally from Dublin and living in Kildare, Ireland.
I came across Relax Kids on social media while I was working in CAMHS. I dealt with parents on a daily basis who were struggling with looking for supports for their children who were suffering from stress and anxiety. Many of these children did not have a diagnosis and I could see parents were left with no follow up support after an assessment. We all suffer with stress and anxiety at some stage in our lives and we all need to learn to manage this stress and this anxiety.
When I researched Relax Kids, I found it embodied everything that these parents and carers were looking for. The entire ethos of Relax Kids and its seven steps benefiting childrens concentration, self-esteem, confidence and teaching them how to self-regulate. I have always believed that confidence is one of the greatest gifts you can give any child as if they believe in themselves, they can accomplish anything. If they can understand their feelings and emotions and regulate them that would be so powerful.
Once I completed the training, I began teaching classes in the community, in schools and in creches. As a Relax Kids coach, I have been able to offer classes for kids as young as 3 in preschool and have run magical adventure classes for those aged 4-9, Chill skills for those aged 9-12. These have all been so amazing and fun to facilitate.
I have been teaching this year remotely through Zoom in schools and have been doing classes through our local Libraries which has been a great platform for reaching so many people and offering free classes to those in the community. I am really looking forward to getting back into schools and the community and teaching face to face.
I absolutely love working as a Relax Kids coach as I have seen how these simple tools and techniques can be used by children and seen how they can benefit them long term. I have personally seen the benefits of using these tools in my home. I am a parent to three children ages 6, 10 and 13.
My six-year-old has benefited so much growing up with Relax Kids and it has helped at every stage such as starting school and most recently dealing with the pandemic. My vision for Relax Kids is to bring it to every school as part of the curriculum and reach as many children as possible giving them the tools to manage their emotions and live happier lives.
My six-year-old daughter was in school one day and her friend lost her pencil case and was very upset and crying. She told her friend to do her five-finger breathing and that would help her feel better. Her friend tried this and said it did not work. So she told her to do some deep belly breathing and she showed her how to do this. My daughter said while practicing this her friend started to laugh and felt much better and then they went looking for her pencil case together.
My tip for any coach starting off is to GO FOR IT.
There are so many ways that you can deliver Relax Kids and there is so much support from fellow coaches. Our children need these supports and these tools after the difficult year they have had and you could be the one that gets to provide these supports for them.
I have just recently completed the Baby Mindful and Charge Up courses online and I am so looking forward to bringing these classes to the community also.
Lynne Byrne
