Tusla Parent Support Champions in Clare have launched an innovative mental health tool for parents called ‘We-Can – Mind Our Mental Health’ that has been designed to support parents in building and strengthening relationships with their children.
We-Can is a pocket-sized tin can which contains daily mindfulness and coping strategy activity cards that parents can use together with their children.
The project originated from “I-Can” which was created by a group of young people from St Joseph’s Secondary School, Clare, aimed at supporting the well-being and resilience in young people. The idea was developed during the Covid-19 lockdowns and school closures in 2020/2021 as a way of sending a message of positive mental health to their peers, create resilience and support and empower other young people to look after their own mental health during the very challenging period. They called their resilience tool, made by young people, for young people, “I-Can- Mind my Mental Health”
Arising from the ‘I-Can’ tools being distributed and used throughout the county, many of Tusla’s partner agency colleagues reported the indirect benefits parents were experiencing while supporting their children to use ‘I-Can’. Parents reported improvements in their parent/child relationships so the potential to develop the project further became very apparent. Clare Parent Support Champions (PSCs) linked up with their colleagues in Clarecare Family Support Services who were running Parenting Programmes and gave each participant across three separate groups an ‘I-Can’. The feedback was extremely positive and included suggestions for further content for the activity cards.
‘I-Can’ has now evolved to being a tool for the whole family and has become “We-Can” to reflect this.
Speaking at the launch, Aisling Mulhall, Senior Child and Family Support Network (CFSN) Coordinator, Tusla PPFS, said “I am enormously proud of the young people who originally developed this project and I continue to be amazed at how positively received it is. As Parent Support Champions we endeavour to support and empower Parents in their parenting role. Parenting is a difficult job and particularly challenging since the fallout of Covid19 and the myriad of other global challenges that have occurred over the past two years. In this context, ‘We- Can’ communicates positive and practical family relationship messages which helps to support building bonds.”
Sue McGlone, Tusla Parent Support Programme Manager, added, “The relative simplicity of the ‘We-Can’ masks its immeasurable power to support positive communication and enrich family relationships. From a personal perspective, I am never without my ‘can’ and it is one of my go-to resources to support my own mental health.”
Jacinta Swann, Manager, Clarecare Family Support Services who attended the launch, quoted one of the Clarecare Family Support Service parents from the Parents Plus Adolescent Parenting Programme who trialled using the “I-Can” with her teenage daughter, “It is an appealing, trendy, funky little can that gives many of the messages parents want to give to their children in a clear and colourful manner on the cards”. Examples of the messages include the importance of getting enough sleep each night, getting out in the fresh air each day for exercise and the importance of connecting with family and friends and professional services if needed to support positive mental health. Clarecare would like to thank all the parents who so kindly took part in trying out ‘I-Can’ and gave valuable feedback to help develop it into the “We-Can”- a tool for the whole family.”
Aoife Griffin, Manager of ISPCC, said “The Clare Childline Therapeutic Service was delighted to be involved in supporting the development of the ‘We-Can’ tools. We know that time together as a family offers many benefits, including building confidence, creating a stronger emotional bond between family members, and improving communication skills. ‘We-Can’ supports this, as well as providing an opportunity to make memories built on fun, laughter, and togetherness.”
In all, there are 30 cards in the ‘We-Can’ tin. 28 varying activity cards in the four themes of Emotional, Social, Physical and Personal activities. 1 “How to Use” card with 3 Key Parenting Messages; The Parent/Child Relationship is Key, A Positive Parenting Style works and Positive Role Modelling. This card also has a QR code to access further supports on the Tusla website. The pack also contains a Helpline card to affirm to parents that they are doing their best every day and if they are struggling, help is available.