Many adults think of childhood
as a happy, stress-free time. However, experts in child development say that in
many ways childhood is as stressful as any other age.
Young people also report that
stress can make some of their days miserable. Fortunately, the following
activities have been found to help stressed-out children at any age:
Help them get exercise. Learning
good exercise patterns can help them release stress.
Teach them to breathe deeply and
slowly. This can help them calm down if they feel themselves tightening up.
Have them get involved in an
activity that is just for fun.
And, probably the most effective
stress-reducer for children is for parents to reduce the stress in their own
lives. Studies show that the ways parents deal with stress has a strong
influence on their children’s ability to cope.
Parents can model good coping
skills by keeping themselves in control at all times.
Parents should set aside time
every day to do a stress-reducing activity with their children, like taking a
walk, gardening together, playing cards, or cooking.
And parents can help relieve
children’s stress just by listening. Children need to be able to tell someone
when they are worried, scared, or angry.
These steps can go a long way
toward helping children manage stress.
