We Cope!
Tips- It is time to consolidate what your child has learnt. Go back to previous activities and repeat any that your child particularly enjoyed.
- Encourage your child to help others cope with different situations.
- Even when your child copes well in a situation, ask them to think about what else they could have done. It is important to expand the range of their coping skills.
| Activity 1 | Changing or not changing? |
| Aim | To improve your child's ability to distinguish between situations that we can change and situations we can't |
| How long will it take? | 15 minutes |
| What do I need? | Illustrated books and magazines |
| What do I do? | Look at the books and magazines and ask your child to describe what is happening in one of the pictures. Is it a situation that can be changed or not? Is it a good change or a bad change? If it is a bad change, what can the people in the picture do to make themselves feel better? |
| Activity 2 | The winner |
| Aim | To help your child apply their coping skills to new situations |
| How long will it take? | 30 minutes |
| What do I need? | Card, scissors, gold paper and ribbons |
| What do I do? | Help your child to make ten gold medals. Then explain that they can win a medal each time they cope successfully with a difficult situation. Ask your child to think of a recent situation and explain how they coped with it. You can then award the first medal! This game makes it more likely that your child will tell you when they have to face difficult situations. You can also award a medal when your child helps a friend to cope with a difficult situation. |
| Activity 3 | Into the unknown |
| Aim | To improve your child's abilities to adapt to new situations |
| How long will it take? | Variable |
| What do I need? | Nothing |
| What do I do? | Plan a visit to a place where your child has never been. Before you go, ask your child what they think it will be like and what they think they will like best. Afterwards, ask your child to draw a picture and tell you how they felt about the visit. How did it compare to their expectations? You can also play variations of this game. For instance, you can prepare a meal together, using a new recipe (perhaps from another country) with ingredients that your child does not recognise. Ask them how they think the meal will taste - and when you are eating it, see if those expectations were right. |
