YMCA BC’s Mindful Monkeys Initiative geared to help more children stay active and learn to cope with stress and anxiety has expanded into Northern BC.
The free initiative will help youth between eight to 12 years old become more active and be better equipped to manage anxiety, stress, worries and gain knowledge on emotion regulation.
“In Prince George the children will be meeting at the Massey Centre Y for eight weeks to learn mindfulness strategies and to try new physical activities,” Jenna Nickle, manager, Mental Wellness, YMCA BC, said.
In the first part of the session a mental wellness facilitator will lead the group in mindfulness practices and educate the youth on social emotional learning, they will do experiential activities and learn some of the brain science and after that the children will do some physical activity, Nickle added.
“That’s fun and games for them and as adults we know that part of the curriculum is based on physical literacy where they will learn a lot of those basic movement skills while playing fun games so they can be successful in a variety of physical activity settings in the future,” Nickle said.
The children will play a variety of tag, and modified games of soccer, basketball, baseball and floor hockey where no one is ‘out’ and no one is sitting down.
“These versions of the games has everybody moving the entire time,” Nickle explained.
The program has been in effect in Kamloops since 2019 and has been a successful initiative of combining the mental wellness aspect with the physical activity curriculum.
Provincial research shows there is a desperate need for this type of program for young people, Nickle added.
With funding support provided by the YMCA BC Foundation, Mindful Monkeys joins the list of mental wellness support programs provided through YMCA BC in the Northern BC Region including Foundry, Y Mind Youth and Y Mind Teen.
Through this expansion, more children will have the chance learn strategies to manage anxiety, stress, worries and regulate their emotions through evidence-based psychoeducational support groups led by trained professionals.
“We are excited to be able to address this need in the community and to provide more support to children in Prince George,” Nickle said.
Information session for parents and children is on Saturday, April 20, with the program beginning April 27 that continues for eight weeks. The program is free. No need to be a member of the Northern BC YMCA. Everyone is welcome to attend.
There is also a program in the works for children in Vanderhoof.
For more information visit nbc.ymca.ca/ and click What's New.
