Seven Practical Tips for a Less Stressed Child

In spite of what adult generally believe a child can be often consumed by stress by experiencing all sorts of situations that expose him to high levels of stress. I am sure everyone can remember how much stress the school exams usually brought, the school deadlines and projects or the peer pressure. I am sure you remember them as they just happened yesterday ... today’s children deal with similar situations, and most of times, much more that we ever had to face. The difference between generations is another factor that highlights specific problems that we too have gone through during our childhood and adolescence.

In order to learn how to manage stress, a child must develop his own system hat will help him to identify his emotions, his duties or responsibilities that cause high stress levels. Sometimes, all those issues just accumulate and make kids feel overwhelmed by everything that is in their lives. Kids feel like life it’s too tough to handle...

This is why teaching your little one certain techniques that will help him understand when stress is slowly affecting his/her life, what is the cause of stress and what are the right solutions to remove it is one of the main concern any parent should have. Maybe those seem big words for a child but if you explain them in their own language, I am sure they will understand and start managing their stress earlier for a future healthy life. Here are seven practical advices for you to teach your kid:

1. Help kids identify anxiety and stress

Most of the times, children are not able to realize what causes their stress. Of course, their intuition might give them hints, and you should teach them to listen to the voice of intuition if they are overwhelmed by pressures. Simple signs like spinning their hair to a finger or chewing their nails can be a good indicator of the periods of time when the child is stressed.

2. Teach them to ask for help

Children never have to face problems by themselves. Show them you are always there, ready to listen and give advice without judging them. Asking for help is always difficult; especially if the things they need to do are their responsibilities. Focus on the power of the example. Both parents should give example by helping each other in any situation, ad the child will learn it’s ok to ask for help.

3. Sometimes proper planning is all you need...

Kids are often stressed by the amount of work they need to do for school, like big projects, tight deadlines on pares. Try to teach them that a good plan can help them finish the project without stress. Kids must understand that they don’t have to do it all at once; all they need is a good structure.

4. Find out what relaxes them

Once you identify his favourite things to do, it’s easy to go there whenever they are stressed. Just make sure there is a limit, because children might seek the comfort and relaxation and they might forget al about their responsibilities.

5. Why do they fail? Find together the answer

Most of the times, when a child fails in doing something, he ends up in blaming himself for the failure. Try to talk to the child and make him understand what the difference between blaming himself and taking responsibility for his actions is. If the child understands that, later on he/she will be able to control similar situations, at school, at work or in a personal relationship. Knowing how to approach the problem, learn from the mistakes and gather experience will definitely prevent many stressful situations to affect his life.

6. Make sure they have a balanced lifestyle (by getting enough sleep and eating healthy), as a healthy lifestyle is vital for a child’s body, especially if the kid is going through periods of maximum efforts (both emotionally and physically).

7. Teach them to share their feelings by keeping a diary

Maybe many parents consider that a diary is a childish way to express one’s feelings, but a child or a teen will find it great, as a diary can become a true friend that preserves the child’s intimacy. Whether he is angry, happy or sad, the diary will always listen to him, without judging him, and this can be a true stress relief.

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