Resilient Family: Happy Child

Resilient Family: Happy Child is mindfulness based, movement and awareness app that is available for the whole family. The app aims to reduce stress and build body awareness for young and old alike. In recent years teachers and educators have recognised the benefits of integrating mindfulness practice in the classroom to improve the physical, emotional and academic well-being of their students. Working in a school specifically for children on the autism spectrum, these practices take on an extra special meaning, one of our core beliefs is that we all need to regulate to educate (and that’s just the teaching staff). Many of our students arrive at school following long journeys in a dysregulated state where each day begins with either breakfast club or ‘wake n shake’, depending on the individual child. Teachers often choose mindfulness/movement videos from you tube to begin the day. This week we had the opportunity to trial Resilient Family; Happy child in our classrooms. We connected the ipads to our Interactive White Boards and followed the instructional videos provided. We covered the various videos across a week with both adults and children taking part.

The app allows you to set up quickly with no sign-up or password required. Resilient Family is designed for families as explained by the developer in the introductory video. The neuroscience behind the application is also touched on during the video explaining the benefits and building blocks to self-regulation, resilience and well-being.

The app contains nearly 50 videos which can be downloaded to your device when using offline. Following on from the introductory video, you are presented with videos relating to basic movements, breathing, walking, standing, shakeout and dropping the weight. Each video is presented well with a calming soundtrack and stimulating visuals. Instructions are clear and easy to follow. ‘Hi-stim’ & and Low-Stim videos are also available for children with over or under stimulating videos options depending on individual needs. The young man demonstrating does an excellent job in presenting and again the natural visuals and soundtrack are appropriately chosen. One option that the developers may consider is using a child’s voice in these videos, this may engage children more in the process, however this does not detract from the overall experience. As the app is aimed at families, it would be nice to see a family video, which may encourage families taking part together. 

Whilst trialling the videos in our school, we found that teachers found the videos useful in terms of structuring their morning sessions, with many using techniques to support with regulation during the day. Children enjoyed following the movements on the whiteboard during group sessions and were curious to explore the various videos. Our dance and movement psychotherapist used the app during 1-1 sessions and reported positive results across the week. One suggestion for the developers is to possibly create family profiles whereby each family member (Mainly the kids) can track progress. I know this is not the apps main intention, but I think by providing a star or recognition token once a video has been watch would be a nice motivating feature for children. I did find the pricing a little expensive from a schools perspective and at £9.99 might be a little off putting for teachers. An incremental pricing structure might be more enticing for educators.

Overall, Resilient Family: Happy Child is a well-planned and thought out application that has a strong research base in neuroscience.  We will be using this application more frequently in our school and look forward to the outcomes it will provide for our students.  

You can download Resilient Family: Happy Child on your iOS or Android devices from the app stores. Download the Resilient Family: Happy Child app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.