Parents & Carers - Kismet Park Primary School

Our thoughts, actions and behaviours are driven by our nervous system, and our nervous system is like an antenna constantly scanning our environment for information. If our antenna is picking up any kind of perceived ‘threat’, our nervous system activates and triggers some kind of response to sustain our safety or survival. Some responses are healthy, and others can be dysfunctional or problematic.

In Big People (adults), some signs that our nervous system is activated might include sleep disturbances, changes in dietary habits (eating more or eating less, or craving foods high in sugar or salt), increased alcohol consumption, a shorter temper (snappy or reactive), changes to sex drive, addictions, and many other things.

In Little People (children), this might look like sleep disturbance or dietary signs, but also increased tantrums, defiance, attention seeking behaviour, ‘sillyness’ or hyperactivity, separation anxiety, among other things. These make learning much more challenging for our kids, so we can support their learning by understanding how we can support their regulation.

This workshop will support parents and carers in understanding what regulation is, and offer some practical things to implement to support our little people in their learning and overall wellbeing.