Teaching kids to cope with the pressures of life

When you’re angry, upset, afraid, jealous, frustrated or resentful, it can be difficult to deal with your feelings in a productive way. Young people, especially, often feel overwhelmed by negative emotions, and may deal with them inappropriately – for example expressing anger with violence.

Or they may become depressed and suffer from low self-esteem and a lack of confidence.

At The Johannesburg Children’s Home, our social workers have introduced ‘circle time’, where they spend time with the kids teaching them coping strategies for their emotional ‘tool box’. It offers a space safe for children to talk about their feelings and learn how to self-sooth and calm down.

During fun, interactive learning sessions, the children are taught skills such as breathing techniques, progressive muscle relaxation and journaling.

We also have a programme that helps children unleash anger and emotions in a physical way. Our One Goal One Dream programme includes boxing lessons allowing the kids to take out their frustrations safely on a punching bag.