5 Ways to reduce your kid’s stress
Stress is a common experience for people of all ages, including children. Unfortunately, stress can negatively affect kids. It can affect their physical, emotional, and mental well-being. It is important to learn stress management techniques to help them cope with the pressures and demands of daily life. By learning how to manage stress effectively, children can improve their overall health and well-being, reduce anxiety and depression, and enhance their academic and social performance.
Let them face fear
Facing fears helps children learn that anxiety naturally reduces over time. This is because the body has a built-in system to calm itself down, and anxiety typically decreases within 20-45 minutes when remaining in an anxiety-provoking situation.
Encouraging positive thinking in anxious children
Anxious and stressed children often get lost in negative thoughts and self-criticism, focusing on the worst-case scenarios and how things could go wrong. However, as parents or caregivers, we can help them to shift their focus to the positives. By highlighting our child’s strengths and encouraging them to see the good aspects of a situation, we can help them cultivate a more positive mindset. This can remind our child to focus on the good things in life and build resilience to negative thinking.
The importance of play for a child’s well-being
Children must have time to relax and be kids. However, even activities that are meant to be fun, like sports, can become overly competitive and stressful. That’s why it’s important to prioritize play purely for enjoyment. Scheduling time each day for your child to engage in playful activities, such as playing with toys, games, sports without competition, yoga, painting, having a tea party, putting on a play, or just being silly, can help them build creativity, imagination, and social skills. Play is fun and an essential part of a child’s development and overall well-being.
Respond when your child is anxious
When your child tells you they are worried or scared, validating their feelings is important. Saying “No, you’re not!” or “You’re fine” can dismiss your child’s emotions and make them feel unheard. Instead, take the time to listen and acknowledge their fears by saying something like, “Yes, you seem scared. What are you worried about?” By validating their emotions, you are showing your child that you care and understand them. In addition, this can help them feel more comfortable opening up to you and discussing their fears. So the next time your child expresses worry or fear, take the opportunity to start a conversation and let them know that you are there to support them.
Stay calm to relax them
As parents, we all want to be a source of comfort and security for our children, especially when they are faced with challenging situations. So it’s natural for children to look to us for guidance on how to react, and we can profoundly shape their emotional responses.
By being mindful of our emotions and deliberately working to stay calm, we can set a positive example for our children and create a sense of safety and security they can rely on.
Challenger Public School in Wakad manages stress in students by creating a supportive and positive learning environment, offering stress management resources and tools, and promoting healthy habits and self-care practices.
