Kids who can!

Self calming techniques, bullying, body awareness and self love , safety on social media and online.

I think that we can all as parents agree that the above topics are so incredibly important especially when your child is moving through the preteen, tween and teen phases, the problem is these topics are also so incredibly difficult to discuss, as someone who has a fair amount of my own experiences and 'demons'; anxiety and self esteem issues, and who has since my mid teens I personally have a huge barrier block when it comes to speaking to my own kids about these topics, I always get stuck, unsure of what to say or how to say it, to judge what in today's age is appropriate for their age or not and that is why I am happy to share the following information with you all today.

The Kids who can community is a locally run set of courses aimed at the preteen, teen and teen phases in boys and girls, the courses run over 8/9 weeks with each lesson running for 1/2 hours.

These courses allow your child to mix socially with children their own age who are experiencing the same issues or approaching the same areas of concern with other kids their age, it allows them to explore the topics in an open safe space of 10 children (max) and allows them to share similar feelings and empathy.  If you have a child who struggles socially or is on the spectrum and therefore struggles with social and empathy led interaction to begin with I think these courses are just a wonderful space to start with.

There are three different courses for either boys and girls 4- 6  and 7- 10 years; girls of 11 - 13 years and boys of 11 - 13 years.  These courses run over 8 weeks and new groups begin at the start of each term.

Here is some information on their full courses (The also offer smaller singular focus workshops, I have included 2 of their upcoming ones at the end of this post) :

KIDS WHO CAN (KWC):  A 8-week  course for boys and girls aged 4-6 and 7-10 , designed to equip them with tools and techniques that will help them deal with feelings and empower them throughout their lives.

The small group dynamic (max 10) offers children a sense of relief as they share similar feelings and develop empathy for and help each other. Please note that this is not a therapy group.

Some of what the course covers:

• Tools to help reduce stress and anxiety 
• Self-calming techniques  
• Tools to cope with anger & other  
  uncomfortable feelings
• How to deal with bullying 
• Kindness & Empathy
• Self-protection and body awareness 
• Self-esteem and self-confidence.

The lessons are 1,5 hours long and there is one lesson a week for 8 consecutive weeks. Cost of the full course is R2400 and it includes a 2-hour workshop with parents and children once the course is completed.
We will be running this course in City Bowl, Hout Bay, Rondebosch, Constantia, Durbanville, Blouberg, Fish Hoek & Edgemead in the 3rd term.

GIRLS WHO CAN (GWC): A 9-week course that assists girls aged 11 - 13

(Grades 5 - 7) with the changes and challenges, they face moving into adolescence.

* All groups have a maximum of 10 children.

Some of the topics we cover:

• Dealing with uncomfortable feelings
• Inclusion and exclusion/bullying
• Negative vs positive self-talk
• Self-worth: physical and emotional changes and body image.  
• Protecting yourself and knowing the difference between safe and unsafe
• Social media: cyberbullying, online safety
• Celebration of the self/self-confidence
• Mother and Daughter day: Celebration and appreciation of Moving into young womanhood

The lessons are 2 hours long and there is one lesson a week for 8 consecutive weeks. Cost of the full course is R2600 and an optional Mother & Daughter workshop is offered once the course is completed.  The cost for this is R600 for both Mother & Daughter.

We will be running this course in Rondebosch, Constantia, Durbanville, Melkbos, Noordhoek & Green Point in the 3rd Term

BOYS WHO CAN (BWC): A 8-week course designed to assist boys aged 11-13 

(Grades 5 - 7) with managing the changes and challenges, they face during their transition from childhood to adolescence.

* All groups have a maximum of 10 children. 

Some of the topics we cover are:

• Identity and Getting Connected, 
• Boys and their Emotions, 
• Dealing with feelings, 
• Healthy Competition, 
• Bullying/Cyberbullying
• Inclusion and exclusion
• Boys Unspoken Rules 

The lessons are 2 hours long and there is one lesson a week for 9 consecutive weeks. Cost of the full course is R2600.

We will be running this course in Tokai & Noordhoek in the 3rd term and hopefully Durbanville & Blouberg in the 4th term.

Now I know that for many the courses may be a bit of of reach cost wise but for those who are interested they do offer a 3-month payment plan option for all courses, which I think is really great considering the amount of lessons and information your child will be receiving.

If you are looking for further information you can pop on over to the Kids Who Can website here.

A big thank you to Julie for sending this information through to me I really think this is a wonderful initiative for both parents and children in our area.