As our children grow
older, they will expand their worlds and with this, they will surely face more
challenges and need to solve bigger and more complex problems every single day.
Also, they
will confront academic and peer pressure, experience rejections and failures.
We also realize the fact that it is
quite impossible to create a pain-free or stress-free world for our children so the adage ‘prevention
is better than cure’ encapsulates an appealing concept for us, in
which our kids can still avoid bad happenings.
This is why we need to
help our kids adapt healthy habits which could help them deal with stress
effectively. Here are 3 Healthy Ways on How Kids Can Deal with Stress:
1. Build
a healthy lifestyle.
Here in the
stress cycle, we could deduce that when there is reduced optimum health or
weaker immune system, children have increased sensitivity to stress.
It is quite
important that our children realize the benefits of healthy lifestyle for them, whether they are toddlers, gradeschoolers or teenagers.
Healthy lifestyle includes eating healthy food, getting sufficient sleep and
rest, doing exercise regularly and avoiding bad vices (smoking, drinking,
drugs).
Stress is inevetiable but with a healthier and stronger body, they can manage stress better.
What we give our kids for their regular meals or snacks is essential for them to have a healthy body and mind.
Need ideas on healthy food and snacks? Here are more
links which could help us prepare healthier food and snacks for our children:
- https://www.superhealthykids.com/recipes/top-10-immune-system-boosting-foods-kids-ideas-recipes/
- https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/immune-system#1
If you are looking for easy and interesting indoor exercises or activities, here are some:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3Xrtm0IVnY
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO-R5EfG_N4
2. Apply
positive coping skills.
Kids have different ways on how to
show or say when they feel stressed.
Some kids would say, “I am scared.” “I feel upset.” “I am sad.” or “Something
is not right.”
Others cannot verbalize and say “I am stressed.”
They just keep quiet, walk away, or sulk in the room.
For some kids, when they face their stressor, they cry, shout,
become aggressive or throw tantrums.
Yes, in coping up with stress we need
to let our kids communicate to us how they feel and we need to acknowledge
those feelings.
While it is important that we let our kids express their
sadness or anger when they are stressed, we also need to help them adapt
positive coping skills.
Here are 12 positive
coping skills we can teach our kids:
- Take breathing exercise.
- Drink
water.
- Do
physical exercise or activity (sports, zumba, free llaying, yoga)
- Use
objects such as Stress Ball, Slime, Magic Sand, or any toy that can help relax.
- Hug
a stuffed toy or favorite pillow.
- Use art. (drawing/ painting/coloring)
- Use music. (listening to music, playing musical instruments, singing)
- Watch
favorite movie or video.
- Write
a journal.
- Talk
to someone (parents, friends or someone your kids trust).
- Think
happy thoughts (favorite holiday, a memorable trip, or favorite place).
- Make Positive
Self-Talk (“I can do it.” “This situation is only temporary.” "I will overcome this problem.")
Here is a sample of
Coping Skill Wheel with positive coping strategies.
3. Develop
a stress relief kit.
The way our kids respond or react to stress makes a whole
lot of difference to their health and well-being.
Sad as it may be, we cannot always be there for them to help them when they encounter a problem, embarassing situation or face a certain stressor.
We cannot be there 24/7 to
help them or shield them or protect them. So what do we do -- we
need to prepare them.
We need to help them come up with something that could help them manage their stress on their own.
One of this ways is by encouraging to them develop
their very own stress relief kit.
What is a stress
relief tool kit? When our child stumbles and gets a cut on his knee, what do we
get? Yes, the first aid kit. The first-aid kit contains supplies
that could help us prevent the wound to get worse. And just like the first-aid kit,
a stress relief kit is easy to carry and could give us emotional or
mental relief wherever we are.
Remember some kids do not fully understand what stress is so in helping them develop a stress relief kit, you may ask these simple guide questions:
o “When you feel sad
what do you usually do?”
o “When you feel upset,
what do you think can help you feel better?”
o “When you are scared
of something and Mommy is not there with you, what do you do?”
On a piece
of paper, you can let them write or draw
6 things or activities inside the boxes using the guide questions.
Remember the
positive coping skills we talked about earlier? You can encourage your kids to
write these activities inside their very own Stress Relief Kit.
For other parents
they let their kids put in “stress relief things” inside a box literally for their
kids to use any time they feel bad or stressed. Some parents call it “calm down
box” or “happy box.”
Image
source: https://tr.pinterest.com/pin/343610646570008271/
The mental health of our kids matter!
It is important that we encourage our kids to use these healthy ways in dealing with stress.
And whatever method our kids choose to use, always remember to guide them
and support them so that they will gain the confidence to face these problems and make decisions for themselves.
We also need to help them
find and build their own strengths which could help them navigate through a crisis.
