Kids Dot Calm

28/08/2025

SUPPOTING CHILDREN WITH ADHD IN SECONDARY SCHOOL

Often the core ADHD symptoms can create frustrating challenges in the classroom environment, significantly affecting children’s ability to engage with structured learning. Some key areas of difficulty might be:

1. Inattention in the classroom: Issues with focus during lessons can cause children to miss instructions, fail to complete assignments, and struggle to grasp new concepts.
2. Hyperactivity and impulsivity: Restlessness and impulsive behaviours can cause disruption in the classroom environment, impacting the child’s and their classmates’ ability to concentrate.
3. Problems with organisation and time management can result in forgotten homework, challenges meeting deadlines and lost or incorrect equipment.
4. Social interactions: ADHD can affect a children’s social skills making it difficult to navigate friendships and group activities. This may lead to feelings of isolation, resentment or being misunderstood.
5. Despite their potential, children with ADHD may underachieve struggling to reach their academic goals due to the effect of ADHD symptoms on learning and performance.

Increased academic demands and emphasis on independent learning, greater responsibility and more complex social stressors alongside hormonal changes can lead to children feeling less able to manage their intensified ADHD symptoms.

You may also be dealing with your own emotions around your child starting secondary school and adjusting to the different approaches to communication from primary school and reduced direct contact with school staff… So how can you empower your child to succeed within a classroom environment?

Here are some effective ways to help your child succeed at school:

• Maintain regular communication: In general, supporting your child with ADHD in the school environment involves proactivity and engagement with teachers. This may take different forms once your child is in secondary school such as emailing rather than catching your child’s teacher in the playground at the end of the day but sharing information about your child’s strengths, challenges, and strategies that have been successful at in the past is key to supporting your child’s unique needs. Effective communication and teamwork leads to a shared understanding and consistent expectations.
• Identify classroom strategies and reasonable adjustments such as appropriate seating, minimised distractions, specialised equipment, consistent routines, visual aids, extra time for tasks or exams, modified tasks to support focus and organisation.
• Work with the school’s SENDCO to develop a support plan outlining specific strategies and adjustments that address your child’s challenges. This is particularly important as they will have several different teachers who probably won’t know individual children as well as teachers in primary school. A comprehensive plan ensures that all staff are aware of your child’s needs and how best to support them.
• On average it can take a child with ADHD 3 times as long to complete a task at home than at school. Consider the possibility of your child attending after-school homework sessions to complete homework with the support of a teacher in an environment with less distractions.
• Encourage independence by teaching organisation skills and time management. Planners or digital apps may be helpful.
• Celebrate your child’s achievements, both big and small to motivate them and build confidence.
• Attend parent-teacher meetings and keep up to date with your child’s progress, attendance, and any behavioural concerns. Keep a check on their online portal and daily planner to ensure they are up to date.
• Workshops and webinars can offer proactive strategies and foster understanding to empower parents and teachers which can have a positive impact on a child’s educational journey and successful outcomes.

Remember that with good preparation and organisation, the transition to secondary school can be an enjoyable experience and give your child lots of opportunities to make new friends and develop new skills❤️

26/03/2025

Adolescence on Metflix has raised some important issues. This is useful advice for parents/carers of kids and teens who may be like me- utterly clueless about some of the online language being used.

In light of Netflix's newest popular show - Adolescence. CR2 Security would like to take this opportunity to help raise awareness surrounding the online security and safety of your child/teenager.

Online, young people are communicating in ways that most adults completely misunderstand. What looks innocent could potentially have a very different meaning.

Here are some of the 'codes' which may be being used by your child:

🔴 Red Pill – “I see the truth.” Used in toxic male spaces to mean waking up to supposed hidden ‘truths’ about women and society, often linked to misogynistic ideologies.

🔵 Blue Pill – Represents those who are “blind to the truth” or still believe in mainstream views about relationships and gender dynamics.

💥 Dynamite Emoji – An “exploding red pill,” meaning someone is a radicalised incel.

🫘 Kidney Bean – A symbol linked to incel culture, sometimes mocking women.

💯 100 Emoji – Tied to the “80/20 rule,” the belief that 80% of women are only attracted to 20% of men.

🕳️ Black Hole – Used to express depression, hopelessness, or being sucked into negative online spaces.

🌪️ Tornado – Represents chaos or feeling overwhelmed, sometimes used to indicate mental distress.

🐸 Frog Emoji – Associated with alt-right and extremist meme culture, often linked to Pepe the Frog, which has been co-opted by some toxic online groups.

🦅 Eagle – A symbol of extreme nationalism, sometimes used in far-right online spaces.

💀 Skull – While often just slang for “that’s funny” or “I’m dead (from laughing),” in certain groups, it can signal darker themes like nihilism or self-harm.

❤️ 💜 💛 💗 🧡 Heart colours and what each one can represent.

❤️ = Love

💜 = Lust

💛 = “Are you interested?”

💗 = Interested but not in s*x

🧡 = “You’ll be okay”

So what should parents do and some advice?

1️⃣ Get Curious, Not Combative – Ask open-ended questions: “I saw something about emojis meaning different things. Have you heard of this?” Keep the conversation light.

2️⃣ Create a Judgment-Free Zone – If your child feels like they’ll be punished for opening up, they won’t. Make it clear you’re there to listen, not just lecture.

3️⃣ Decode Together – Ask them to explain their digital world. What do different symbols mean? Who are the influencers they follow? Don’t assume—ask.

4️⃣ Teach Critical Thinking – Help them question online content. “Why do you think some groups push this idea? Who benefits?” Arm them with questions, not just rules.

5️⃣ Monitor Without Spying – Open conversations work better than secret surveillance. Make checking in on their online spaces a normal part of parenting, not a crisis move.

6️⃣ Be Real About Manipulation – Explain how toxic online groups groom young people by making them feel special, included, or like they have ‘insider knowledge.’

7️⃣ Build Their Offline Confidence – The more they feel valued and confident in the real world, the less they’ll seek validation in dangerous online spaces.

The digital world is evolving faster than most adults can keep up. But we don’t have to be in the dark!

Be sure to share!

Source: Unknown. TV show: Adolescence.

09/12/2024

Christmas is exciting and fun for a lot of people, but if your child is anxious, or has a neurological condition such as Autism or ADHD, Christmas can be difficult and overwhelming. Here are some tips for reducing stress during the Christmas period:

🎄If possible, make plans in advance, and make sure your little(or not so little)one knows where you will be going, what you will be doing, who will be there and so on. Consider their social capacity, and maybe try and spread visits or trips over the Christmas period.
🎄A visual schedule, list or calendar can work well for a lot of children, and helps them to see what is happening and what to expect next. Try and keep to routines as far as possible, sticking to normal bedtimes etc.
🎄Try to think ahead and consider potential triggers for distress or overwhelm. Loud music, flashing lights, cooking smells, candles, crowds- these can all cause discomfort or stress for an anxious or neurodivergent child. Lights and decorations might be exciting for some people, but the sudden and unexpected change to their world can cause huge anxiety for autistic children. Consider also whether you may need to take ear defenders or your child's favourite familiar foods when you go out (and don't feel bad if Christmas dinner ends up being chicken nuggets or pizza!)
🎄If possible, prepare family members or friends, so that they can support you in making visits as comfortable as possible for your child. They could let you know in advance what you will be doing or eating, and could even turn lights off, turn music down and so on during your visit.
🎄Where you can, make sure that your child knows where there is a quiet area that they can escape to if things do become overwhelming.
🎄School plays, concerts, nativities or parties can be a huge source of stress for some children. Getting changed, noise, sitting around waiting, a different routine with practices, walks to church and so on can be extremely hard to cope with. Talk to teachers about finding your child a role that they are comfortable with, find out in advance when practices will be and put them on the visual timetable, prepare your child in advance, ensure they have had time to try on and get used to their costume and consider having some quiet fidget toys in the hall or church to keep them regulated. They may prefer to participate in one performance rather than several. All just things to consider to try and ensure that all children can be included without becoming distressed or overloaded.
🎄Plan for decompression days during the holidays where your child (and you!) can just spend time relaxing at home.
🎄Autistic children especially can struggle with exchanging presents. Some are unsure how they are expected to respond, and the whole experience can be overwhelming for them. Presents could be spread over the Christmas period, you could ask family or friends that presents could be left unwrapped, or explain politely why your child might prefer to open presents at a different time.
🎄Don’t forget time for you. There may be certain things that are stress-inducing to your child, but you may still be able to do them with someone else.

The most important thing to remember is that everybody’s idea of a happy and stress-free Christmas looks different. Don’t feel pressured by the ‘perfect’ images that you might see on social media. Ask for help and focus on what works for your family.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS🌟

Emotional support for children and families

12/10/2024

Call or email to arrange a free consultation

Emotional support for children and families

10/10/2024

Chandana is passionate, not only about inspiring a love of English, but also for supporting children’s emotional wellbeing.
She has 20+ years experience of teaching children of all abilities, and with varying emotional health issues and additional educational needs❤️

06/09/2024

Handy list for anyone with year 4,5 or 6 children wanting to visit secondary schools

Secondary schools will be inviting young people and their parents or carers in to have a look around and get a feel for their school. Try to visit at least 2 or 3 to be able to compare and contrast.

04/09/2024

Not an easy week for many children and families💔

04/09/2024

Not an easy week for many children and families💔

This week is not simple or easy for many families..

28/08/2024

Some children may be fed up of the lack of structure, and be excited to get back to their friends and familiar routine but there are many reasons why returning to school might feel scary and overwhelming for lots of children.
For children with obsessive or compulsive behaviours, anxiety disorders or Autism Spectrum conditions, changes in their routine, unknown or unpredictable situations, new rooms, new friends or teachers, different environments, can all increase anxieties.
I have been working throughout the holidays with a number of children experiencing school based anxieties, so here is a list of tips and suggestions for supporting children through the return to school.

• Talk, listen and validate their feelings. Reassure them that it is totally understandable and normal for them to feel worried. Avoid saying things like “Nothing to worry about” or “Oh, you’ll be fine”, and acknowledge their feelings. Try to work through them, and give some strategies to help them to feel that they can handle their worries.

• Be mindful of your own stress levels, and beware of ‘emotional contagion’ which may lead to children picking up on our anxiety, and taking it on board.

• Like most difficult situations, repeated exposure makes things easier. After the first couple of days, for most children the anxiety will reduce and they will settle back into their old routine.

• Make a plan together for a situation where the child becomes anxious in school. Sometimes just knowing that there is a plan in place is enough to help them to feel more in control and put their mind at rest. The plan might be to use some relaxation and breathing exercises, to talk to a trusted adult in school, or to use some mindfulness or grounding techniques- using their five senses to focus on what they can see, hear, taste, small and touch to bring attention back to the present moment and surroundings, away from negative feelings.

• It might help them to have a smell on their clothes that reminds them of home, or a small item like a hairband in their pocket. They may like you to draw a little heart on their arm or foot- somewhere where it won’t be seen, but they will feel reassured knowing it’s there.

• On the days leading up to their school return, try to get back into a good bedtime routine. Prioritise relaxation and wellbeing, and allow time for talking about anything that your child may be worried about during the day, making sure that this isn’t too close to bedtime. Focus on the positive things about going back to school that your child is looking forward to, maybe seeing friends or favourite teachers again.

• On the first day back, try not to prolong the goodbye process, as this will allow anxiety and adrenaline to build up. Say a calm, reassuring goodbye, and let your little one believe that you feel happy and positive about their school return, even if you’re going home to cry into your coffee!

• Make sure to let your child’s teacher know how they are feeling so that they can support your child, and you can be reassured that school are aware of what your child is finding difficult.

• Remember that getting back into a normal school routine is likely to be exhausting and difficult for many children. You might like to plan something fun and enjoyable to do at the end of the school day. Alternatively, some children may just need time alone to decompress after a busy day.

• Give lots of encouragement and reminders that you will be there at the end of the day, looking forward to hearing what they have been up to.

A little anxiety can be a helpful motivator and encourage problem solving and critical thinking skills. HOWEVER if you feel that your child’s anxieties are beyond the usual back to school nerves, and they continue to have separation problems, or experience anxiety that is interfering with their ability to function in school or at home, please seek professional advice.

Emotional support for children and families

21/08/2024

I currently have two spaces available during school time which I am offering to home educated children with 15% DISCOUNT.
Get in touch for more information❤️