Lighthouse News - September

Dear Friend of PLC

According to students in the Junior School, laughter is the best medicine!

Katy Howes, the Junior School Wellbeing Co-ordinator and a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader, has worked with all students and staff across the Junior School and is very impressed with the positive feedback and observations made by staff and students. These include teachers and students feeling more relaxed, having a more positive mental attitude, changes to their mood and higher energy levels.

So, what is Laughter Wellbeing?

Laughter Wellbeing is a unique concept where anyone can laugh for no reason without relying on humour, jokes or comedy.
Laughter is initiated as an exercise in a group but, with eye contact and childlike playfulness, it soon turns into real, contagious laughter.
The deep-breathing exercises bring more oxygen to the body and brain which make you feel more energised.
The concept of Laughter Wellbeing is based on a scientific fact that the body cannot differentiate between fake and real laughter if done with willingness. You can receive the same health benefits, whether the laughter is real or simulated.
There are thousands of laughter clubs in more than 100 countries.

What are the health benefits of laughing?

Laughing lights up the reward centre of your brain and releases feel-good chemicals, including dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins.
Laughing decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, improving your resistance to disease.
Laughing improves your mood and memory.
It stimulates an increase in blood flow and oxygenation in your body.

Check out this clip to see just how contagious laughter really is!

Upcoming Lighthouse Events

Mindfulness Parent Group

Join Jess, PLC's Clinical Psycholgist, for four experiential sessions focused on mindfulness, understanding distress and learning to respond to your emotions (and your daughter’s emotions!) in a helpful way.

These sessions are open to the first eight parents who register.

Please ensure that you can commit to all four sessions as we are unable to re-fill your place if you can no longer attend for any reason.

Dates: Every Tuesday for four weeks, beginning on Tuesday 9 October
Time: 8.45 am - 10.00 am
Location: The PLC Lighthouse
Cost: Free

Register Here

Please contact Jess if you have any queries.

There's More to Failing than Meets the Eye

Junior School Psychologist, Danay Savva, discusses the subject of 'failing' and offers practical advice for parents dealing with this tricky subject.

I recently read a post asking people what would be the one thing they would do if they knew they wouldn't fail. It struck me as such a sad idea - that to allow ourselves to truly dream, we needed to eliminate failure from the equation.

Our culture of competitiveness pushes the idea of being the prettiest, fastest, funniest, and smartest - to conquer all those in our path. It starts from an early age and continues through to adulthood. It’s not surprising then, that many of us are scared to take any risks if there is even a small possibility of making mistakes or failing. Analysis paralysis takes over and we can begin to live our lives in a state of: "I really want to do XYZ.... but… but.... what if I fail?"

We forget that our mistakes and failures do not define us. They are simply hiccups in the fabric of our lives. Some greater than others, yes; but all still mistakes from which we can recover and continue trying. Our mistakes are an opportunity to tweak what we're doing, or to change directions entirely; to learn from what hasn’t worked and to persevere.

So, I have some different questions: What risks would you take, what dreams would you aim to achieve, even if you knew you might fail along the way? What would you tell yourself if you did fail and how would you encourage yourself to keep on going?

Some Ways to Help Your Children:

Encourage them to ask for help

Children need to understand that asking for help from the right people when they’re stuck isn’t being lazy - it’s being resourceful!

Be adventurous as a family

Encourage your children to take risks and try new things. Take them to new places, introduce them to new activities, cultures and foods, and encourage them to have a go. Have a go yourself! Children learn through what we model, not what we say.

Praise effort and strategy

In the book 'Tough Times, Strong Children', Psychologist, Dr Dan Kindlon, explains:

“You get confidence from overcoming adversity, not from being told how great you are all the time.”

However, praising only effort can be a missed opportunity too. If things aren’t working and effort isn’t the issue, assist your child in reviewing the strategy - what is and isn’t working?

Read the full article

Lighthouse App of the Month: Unstuck

Unstuck is an in-the-moment digital coach that's ready every time we're feeling stuck.

The app helps us see and solve situations with fresh perspective through provocative questions, targeted tips, and action-oriented tools. It's an approach that works for all kinds of issues, large and small, so we can live better every day.

Download the App here.