5 Ways on Helping Children in Managing Stress

As a parent, no matter how hard you try, stress might end up becoming a part of your child's life. It could either be caused by their personal fears or a result of the competitiveness around them. Most growing children, especially teens, feel pressured by the need to find their place in the world. Apart from that, with so much happening around them, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, they might feel lost and confused. This can easily manifest into stress that can affect their physical and mental well-being. That said, younger children might not understand how to express that they're stressed. Some telltale signs of stress are unexpected negative behaviours that are not typical of them such as lashing out or stubbornness. If you notice it early, you can put in useful tips on stress management for kids and teens.

Take them out to play
Stress and its effects on the youth cannot be underestimated. Physical activity releases a ton of feel-good hormones that can easily help alleviate stress. The best way you can have your child forget about everything that bothers them is to take them out to play. Make sure it is something they enjoy such as football, swimming, skating, karate, dancing or simply playing with their friends. Plan a schedule and take out a minimum of 60 minutes to just move and be out under the sun.

Encourage hobbies
It can be tempting to encourage your child to participate in all kinds of courses. Most often parents see so much competition that they push their children to do more than they can take. Instead of making them speed up, teach your children to slow down. Find a hobby you can enjoy together such as reading, painting, building lego sets or just stargazing. Fan their imagination by making up stories around everything you do. If your kids are older, you can even have them come help you in the kitchen without getting injured. This can significantly help tackle stress in children by encouraging them to just live in the moment without worrying about that exam next week.

Teach them to be kind to themselves
Often, stress is caused by unrealistic pressures that children might put on themselves. It could be because someone bullied them about their body, a teacher mocked them for their academic performance or someone made them feel like they weren't good enough. Moreover in today's educational system children have limited time to grasp new concepts before they move on to the next. In times like these, teaching them to be kind to themselves is crucial for better stress management. Encouraging phrases like "I've done my best", "we all make mistakes" and "I don't have to be perfect" are great to start with.

Regulate their screen time
Social media is a blessing only when its consumption is regulated, especially for children. At a time when they need to be in an encouraging and safe environment, they might be exposed to a lot of negativity. Cyberbullying, racism, and sexism are just some aspects of social media that even kids are not safe from. So try not to introduce your kids to social media at a very young age and before you do have a talk with them. This is one of the best techniques for students that can help them be conscious consumers and reduce the chances of stress caused by unsupervised media.

Teach your kids to take charge
Kids can be resilient adapters to change. As a parent, all you need to do is give them the space to take charge of their feelings. Consult a specialist to understand what is stress for kids and how you can help your child tackle it by letting them take charge. However, fixing all their problems for them might just make them incapable of dealing with them on their own. So when they don't have you around at school or anywhere else, they might panic and feel stressed. Give them space to tackle their own situations. Not only will this prepare them but also increase their confidence and sense of self-worth.

Conclusion
In today's world, it is important that everyone knows how to overcome stress and depression. Any one specific thing may not directly be one of the causes of stress in students, but you can help alleviate it. Talk to your child, teach them how to take a break and encourage self-compassion. Let them know they don't need to take on more than they can handle and prepare them to be conscious consumers of social media. This way, they will experience higher self-worth and confidence, and won't experience stress very easily.

The Podar Education Network takes mental health and stress management for students very seriously. We educate students and parents about stress management and mindfulness to promote more holistic development. Visit our website to know more.