Calm Kid Central
For child and family counsellors/therapists, teachers and other professionals who work with children
Helping you help anxious, frustrated and “tricky” kids learn to feel calm, confident and co-operative.
Does any of this sound familiar?
You are a teacher, school counsellor, child psychologist, youth worker, SSO, allied health worker or other professional who works with children and families.
Sometimes you feel isolated or unsupported – you’d like to have quick and easy access to another experienced profesional to ask them questions about some of your most challenging children and professional situations – and get resources/ideas/opinions
These children struggle with managing anxiety, frustration, social situations, trauma, behaviour and difficult life events.
Increasing numbers of children you work with have a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, ASD, ADHD, ODD, sensory processing problems or global delay. Even those without a diagnosis seem to becoming more complex and demanding.
It’s not always easy to communicate with, teach and support with these children.
They get bored or restless with your explanations or activities – or struggle to understand them
You would like new ideas, activities, videos, resources and ways of working with children – and don’t have time to come up with them yourself
Some days you worry that you are not effective with some children and feel a lack of confidence in what you are doing with families (don’t we all!)
If any of this is true for you, Calm Kid Central might help you. Calm Kid Central supports professionals working with children in THREE important ways.
1. We give you a set of fresh resources (videos, activity sheets, downloads) you can use with children to help them understand and manage their feelings and with parent/carers to help them know how to support their children
We have 2-4 minute entertaining and animated videos for children to watch in the therapy/classroom/small group room to help them understand worry, cope with stress, act more calmly and behave in positive ways. Each video comes with an activity sheet, child centred discussion questions and poster to download to use with children in the therapy room/classroom.
Calm Down Tricks
Why do I get so mad?
Calm and Confident Thoughts
Coping with “Mean” behaviour
Acting Confidently
Getting Good Sleep
We also have 5-8 minute videos, short articles, handouts and discussion questions for parent/caregivers for you to use with them in the therapy/small group room to help them know how to use their coach, connect and take charge skills with their children with social, behavioural and emotional challenges.
Topics include: “How to spend positive time with tricky kids”, “Better Before School Mornings”, “How adults sometimes accidentally reinforce difficult behaviour”, “Questions Parent/Carers can ask anxious children” and many, many more. Each video includes an audio recording of a parent/child interaction to give parents/carers a real sense of how they might manage conversations.
Sometimes it’s hard to know how to discuss these issues with parent/carers – sometimes it’s hard to create/come up with your own resources – we give you a starting point that you and parents can discuss and work from.
Upset Children: What to Say First (5 mins)
Helping Angry/Panicked Children Calm Down (6 mins)
Important Questions to Ask Stressed Kids (6 mins)
The Real Reasons Children “Misbehave” (8 mins)
Making Praise more Powerful in Changing Behaviour (8 mins)
The skills and knowledge children need/how to coach this (8 mins)
How we accidentally encourage tricky behaviour (4 mins)
A simple way to increase instruction following (6 mins)
Question Asking Mistakes we make (6 mins)
2. We give you ideas about how to talk to and work with “tricky” children (and you can share these with parents too)
In our “Professionals only” library we also have videos, articles and some brief research reviews which help professionals working with children get access to professional development in your own time, and from your own therapy/classroom/home.
We are still building this library, but currently have approximately 10 articles, 5 videos and 3 literature reviews specifically for counsellors, therapists, allied health workers and teachers who work with children. Topics include:
Working with sad children, Using empathy, Bereavement in children, Generalised anxiety disorder and so on. More are being added each fortnight.
3. We Answer your Professional Questions about the children you work with
All professionals need individualised answers to questions, quick help and fresh ideas at times. It is not always easy to get this face to face – due to time constraints, costs and availability of support.
At Calm Kid Central, we provide this support online via our “Professionals Only” discussion centre. The centre is accessible wherever you are online – via your phone, computer or tablet at work or home.
Our panel of experienced and fully qualified child psychologists (from the Developing Minds Clinics in South Australia) will carefully read and answer your questions as soon as possible.
Some questions we’ve had so far on the site include:
How do you deal with aggression in the therapy room?
What resources do you use with children who have experienced trauma?
How do you help 6 and 7 year olds develop flexibility when things don’t go their way?
What resources do you have for children to help develop “body awareness” when they are getting angry?
How do you work with 10 year olds and their parents who report past bullying?
How would you help a 7 year old adjust to divorce/family separation?
What ideas do you have to help Year 1 with psycho-somatic complaints/constantly hurting themselves?
How to help an 11 yo develop better theory of mind?
What is the current thinking on using rewards in the classroom from a psychological perspective?
And many, many more.
You will be able to read our experienced clinical child psychologists’ detailed answers to these questions, including how we work with children like this in the clinic. You can ask your own questions in the private, secure and closed “Professionals only” membership
We guarantee to respond to all questions within 48 hours – for 48 weeks of the year.
Kirrilie
Clinical Child Psychologist
Taryn
Clinical Child Psychologist
Penny
Clinical Child Psychologist
Jacinda
Clinical Child Psychologist
Kate
Clinical Child Psychologist
Also – as a professional, you will also have access to the separate “Parent/Carer question centre. In this question centre, parents ask our psychologists questions about their children at home.
For example, in the Parent/Carer Question Centre we’ve had questions such as:
- How do I help my siblings stop fighting?
- What is the right age for a mobile phone?
- How do I help my 8 year old be less sad/anxious about going to school?
- What do I do about meltdowns in my 10 yo?
- How do I help my 9yo manage grief?
- How do I cope with my own feelings about my child’s learning disorder?
- How do I help my 7 and 10yo be more organised/look after their possession?
- What do I do about my 5 yo not focussing at school?
- What do you do about children constantly getting out of bed at night?
- And many, many more.
You will be able to read our child psychologists’ detailed answers to these questions. It’s a bit like being able to “sit in” on another professional’s education sessions with other parents – which can give you ideas about how you might support parents/carers too.
Evidence for Calm Kid Central (Parent Membership)
We haven’t yet collected formal data from our professional members – however data collected from our parent members – at sign up and then again 4 months later showed the following:
94% of children (as reported by their parents) experienced a significant reduction in anxiety, worry and stress symptoms
On average, parents reported a statistically significant increase in parental adjustment and well-being
97% of parents said they believed Calm Kid Central had been either “quite”, “very” or “extremely helpful” for their family
(Data collected from 48-57 families, measures used were the Pediatric Symptom Checklist and the Parent and Family Adjustment Scale)
What do professionals (and families) say about Calm Kid Central?
The videos are great for the age group I work with (mainly 6-10 year olds). I also use the tip sheets to give to parents. The concepts are easy to follow and good also for parent education. 10/10 for helpfulness of the program.
Clinical Psychologist working with children (NSW)We watched the mean behaviour video altogether and afterwards practised (with much hilarity) all the different scenarios you posed for dealing with mean behaviour. Fantastic!! thankyou. Just perfect specific tips that can be enacted immediately and that can be easily remembered. We had a lot of fun – I don’t think they will ever be forgotten. Thankyou SO much. So practical and helpful….really appreciate it.
RachelCalm Kid Central is interactive, up to date and helps students, parents and children. It has helped me really help the students I work with. I’m enjoying using the videos to help children learn social skills…I would recommend it to any school well being staff.
R. FairlieI am always excited to get the Calm Kid Central emails with the “video of the week”. They always contain pearls of wisdom.. Your work is my “go to” when something new pops up for my kids.
S. EvansLove what you are doing and the use of video clips with children has been really helpful.
Clinical PsychologistIt has made a huge difference to my work in regional South Australia to have instant access to such practical and straightforward and professional psychological support through CKC – this (service) is bridging gaps in services for country families and truly making a difference.
Child Well Being Practitioner (Schools)Please note that Calm Kid Central is an educational service (not a therapy service) and the testimonials above are about this program, and not about Developing Minds therapy services.
Simple Pricing (Professional)
Monthly Membership
$37.50
/month. (OR FREE if you are a Calm Kid Central School*)
Billed monthly – cancel anytime in two clicks
Learning Centre for Parents/Professionals
Learning Centre for Kids – videos, activity sheets, discussion questions
Question/Discussion Centre (ask questions of our child psychologists)
Transcripts of all Parent/Professional Videos
Tip/Cheat Sheets for Classroom/parents
Essential Questions Guide for each video (start important discussions with kids)
Permission to use videos in classrooms/therapy sessions/seminars and all other professional settings
Tax invoice sent monthly for you to claim as professional development expense
Annual Membership
$209.50
/year. (OR FREE if you are a Calm Kid Central School*)
Same membership – but billed annually (save $240.50)
Learning Centre for Parents/Professionals
Learning Centre for Kids videos, activity sheets, discussion questions
Question/Discussion Centre (ask questions of our child psychologists)
Transcripts of all Parent/Professional Videos
Tip/Cheat Sheets for Classroom/parents
Essential Questions Guide for each video (start important discussions with kids)
Permission to use videos in classrooms/therapy sessions/seminars and all other professional settings
Tax invoice sent monthly for you to claim as professional development expense
Discounted Organisation Pricing
If there are a number of professionals at your school or organisation who would like to to access all of the video, article and professional supervision on Calm Kid Central, then you might be interested in our “Bulk Professional Member” pricing which is as follows:
3-4 memberships (in same organisation) – $495 for a year of access
5-10 memberships (in same organisation)- $685 for a year of access
11-15 memberships (in same organisation)- $895 for a year of access
Whole School and Community Membership
If you work in a school and would like all the staff AND all your families to be able to access Calm Kid Central, so that students can watch videos at home as well – and families can access our child psychologists themselves to ask us questions, then you might be interested in Whole School Membership. Click on the button below to find out more.
Are you a parent or carer wanting to support children in your own home?
The program and pricing listed above is for professionals who support kids at work.
But don’t worry – we have a special Calm Kid Central program just for you.
Click on the button below to find out more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are all the videos and resources available as soon as I sign up? Will there be more released?
Yes, all of our existing videos and resources are instantly available after you sign up and log in. There will be new videos and resources are released each month.
What if I sign up and then don't find any of the resources helpful?
As child psychologists who have been working with families and professionals for 20 years, we have designed our videos and resources very carefully to make sure they are useful, reassuring and helpful. But if you disagree – that’s completely fine. We have a 30 day money back guarantee. Just email us at [email protected] within 30 days of signing up and let us know you haven’t found the resources helpful and we will refund your money, no questions asked.
What if I want to cancel my membership?
You can cancel your membership at any time by simply clicking on “cancel” in your dashboard. It takes about 20 seconds to cancel so there are no hoops to jump through.
How do I pay? Are there any extra charges?
You pay using either your credit card or a paypal account. Your credit card or paypal will be charged every 30 days (or once a year, if you sign up for the annual membership) for the amount advertised, with no extra charges applied. We will remind you BEFORE your annual subscription is charged, and we will also let you know every month that you are being charged on the monthly subscription – so you don’t forget and rack up monthly charges for a membership you’ve forgotten you had (I hate it when that happens!)
I have a child diagnosed with an anxiety disorder,autism, ADHD, learning disorder, speech and language disorder or global delay. Will Calm Kid Central still be useful for my family?
Yes. We work with hundreds of children each year with these diagnoses, and in Australia see children under the National Disability Insurance scheme. We are very familiar with the particular issues that these children have and are conscious of making sure our adult and child resources have information that applies directly to this group of families.
Can families use Calm Kid Central instead of taking their child to therapy?
Probably not.
It’s important to know that Calm Kid Central is NOT therapy. We don’t have children in the room, we haven’t conducted an assessment and can’t talk with parents or children in real time. This means there are limits to what we can do. For example, if there is a safety issue for a child, getting help over the internet is never a good idea and we recommend families see someone in person as soon as possible. Understanding this is part of the conditions for accessing this site.
However, there are some families who don’t need one on one therapy. In this case, Calm Kid Central can potentially be an extremely useful way to support and help kids and parents. We can provide ideas, information and reassurance. Often families see a therapist in person as well as belong to Calm Kid Central.
I'm not ready to sign up but I'd like to get your free articles
If you’d like to get a free fortnightly article on working with kids and teens with emotional, social or behavioural challenges, please click here: Get Articles via email
I'm worried about my privacy, I don't want everyone to know about the questions I have with my students/clients
Firstly, Calm Kid Central is not open to the public – only signed up members. Second, all members (professional and parent members) are asked to use an alias in the Question Centre. No real names are used. We also ask professionals and parents to NOT use the name of their child, disguise any identifying details of children/schools they are working with. This way families and professionals don’t accidentally identify themselves – and you can feel free to ask any questions without feeling worried that about being judged negatively in some way. Third, the professional Question centre is only open to professionals who work with children (teachers, child psychologists, allied health workers and counsellors).
However, it is important to know that we have talked to literally thousands of families – and hundreds of professionals – over 20 years, and chances are – whatever you or your child/student/client is struggling with – you are not alone. In this way, seeing other parents and professionals’ questions can be very reassuring.
One final note – it is important to know that like all professionals, we are mandated notifiers of child abuse. This means that if we receive information on this site that a child is being abused, then we are legally obliged to report this (which we will do using the details members give us when signing up for the site). This happens very rarely, but it is important to know upfront.
Who is the behind this site? Who creates the resources? And what is Developing Minds Psychology?
My name is Kirrilie Smout. I’m a child psychologist from Adelaide, Australia. I’ve spent more than 20 years working with families and now direct the Developing Minds team. Our team consists of 17 child psychologists (many of whom also provide resources and answer questions here at Calm Kid Central) who see more than 200 families each week, and provide training and supervision to other professionals who work with kids.
I’ve also presented seminars and training to more than 50 thousand students (and their teachers and parents) in schools across Australia to help them learn to manage their difficult emotions and challenges in life. All these experiences have been a privilege for me. I’ve learnt an amazing amount about families, and this has helped me write several books about and for children.
Do I have to download any programs or software?
No, there is no downloading of programs or software. Provided you have an internet connection everything is streamed directly to your phone or computer. Everything is optimised for mobile phones too – so you can watch/listen while you are out of the house.
Why did you create Calm Kid Central?
In mid 2015 I worked with a family in a rural area via skype. We discovered that private health cover didn’t allow them to claim their sessions and I was really disappointed for them. I started thinking that there must be a better way – and the idea of Calm Kid Central was born. I was hoping that we could start to help families and professionals who not only live in rural areas; but who can’t afford to get to make an appointment; work full time and are time poor; work fly in/fly out jobs – or for whatever reason can’t attend our clinics in an ongoing basis. This means we can provide support, answers, supervision and education to many more people.
Our team of psychologists really do care about the young people they work with, and I have all my fingers and toes crossed that Calm Kid Central helps us ultimately reach and support hundreds of kids to feel calmer, more confident and act in more positive ways.
I have more questions about Calm Kid Central, how do I get in touch with you?
We are real people here and answer our phone and emails! If you have any questions about Calm Kid Central, then you can contact us anytime at [email protected]
You can also call us during business hours 9-5pm AEST on 08 8357 1711