Strategies For Managing Childhood Stress In School-Aged Kids

Introduction

Stress is a normal response to changes and challenges in life. Being neophobic by nature, children usually become worried before a big test, performance, or change in family dynamics. While anticipating a new sibling or performing on stage for the first time usually elicits positive stress in children.

A divorce or death in the family can trigger a negative stress response in kids. This is because stress motivates kids in small amounts, but when it exceeds normalcy, it becomes negative, and often a chronic problem for children. The 21st century has several academic and work demands of its humans, to maintain and improve their lives.

However, they often end up taxing children emotionally as they are not as resilient as adults. Therefore, it is important to equip children with adequate mental tools from a young age to combat stress. Here’s a quick guide to managing childhood stress in school-aged kids along with strategies.

Strategies For Managing Childhood Stress In School-Aged Kids

Mindful Breathing

Mindful breathing is an excellent way of dealing with childhood stress. As most stress triggers appear overwhelming in the present to kids, mindfulness is the key to relaxing and helping them focus. For mindful breathing, your child needs to keep a stuffed toy on their belly while lying on the ground. Ask them to deeply breathe through their nose and feel their belly rise with their toy. They can keep their eyes open and focus on the toy visually or keep them shut and concentrate on the feeling mentally. As every breath is exhaled gently through their mouth, stress is released as well.

Outdoor Play

Outdoor playing is very important for children. They should engage in physical activity and outdoor play daily for at least 30 to 60 minutes. This not only prevents them from being obese or unhealthy but also helps lower stress levels and boost the secretion of mood-enhancing endorphins. Playing outdoors also helps kids get adequate sun exposure and strengthens their mental health, thanks to vitamin D absorption from the sun.

Guided Imagery Meditation

Guided meditation helps your stressed kid imagine their happy place and find solace and comfort there. For this, your child needs to sit in the lotus pose, with their backs straight and breathing deep and slow. Ask them to focus on your words, remain silent, and visualize accordingly. Guide them to visualize their happy place. It can be a beautiful beach, an imaginary Candyland, or even a snowy chalet. Ask them to try to feel it with their sensory organs, by sight, smell, taste, hearing, and sensation. As your kid imagines these, they will automatically forget anything that has been stressing them.

Gratitude Journaling

Encourage your kids to give gratitude journaling a try. Even if they start with only 10 minutes a day, ask them to write 3 things that made them grateful that day. It can be doing well on a test, having a great lunch at home, or even being selected for a performance. Once your child starts finding gratitude in small ways and is thankful for the little things that matter, their entire perspective on life and stress alters.

Muscle Relaxation Exercise

Stress is not just a mental but also a physical response to anticipated hurdles in life. Young children can also suffer from chronic pains in the neck, shoulder, and lower back as a result. To avoid such health problems, it is ideal to engage in muscle relaxation exercises daily before turning to bed. This helps keep stress and discomfort away from sleep. Simply ask them to focus on one body part at a time, and contract all the muscles as far as comfortably possible, before relaxing and exhaling deeply in the process. This helps release muscle tension really well in children.

Quality Family Time

Quality family time is very important for children. Kids who do not get much attention from parents or family members due to work demands may often internalize their loneliness and be overstimulated and stressed without understanding why. Spending time with your children and talking to them about their day is important but also includes a variety of activities to bond better with your kids. It can be playing Twister or a quick game of cricket, but it must not be disturbed by work obligations.

Examine The Subtext Of Parenting

Parenting is also an art that parents spend years practicing before perfecting. An easy way to ace parenting early is by examining your approach’s subtext. For example, if your child returns home after taking a test at school and your first question is about the exam, then it can send a subtle message to them that you prioritize academics over them. Be mindful of your words and take a pause before impatiently replying to anything.

Conclusion

Childhood stress is a rising crisis in modern times. As parents, it is important to identify and help kids combat their respective stress triggers. You may be able to shield your child from all the problems of life, but you cannot prevent them from feeling those consequences emotionally and mentally. They need to become resilient to deal with all of life’s hurdles. Therefore, parents must adopt the above strategies to manage stress levels in kids from a young age and make them resilient.

References

https://health.choc.org/7-stress-relief-techniques-for-kids/

https://www.unicef.org/parenting/mental-health/what-is-stress