What can you do to help your child cope with stress?

Just like adults, our children also suffer from stress and as their parents we can teach them some habits that will encourage them to cope with stress in healthy ways. 

Kids can have conflicts with their siblings or friends or problems with their studies which can lead them to stress over it.

Here’s how you can teach your kids to cope with stress:

 1- No over scheduling 

 If your kids go to school, come back and complete their homework, perform extra curricular activities, sleep and repeat it all over again the next day then they are bound to get stressed eventually.

They need some time to rejuvenate and feel like themselves again. Constantly making them do activities one after the other will only stress them out more. 

Kids need to have some time for themselves doing things that they want to do apart from their school and homework. If they want to stay indoors and paint then let them do so or if they want to go out and play with their friends then they should be allowed to do so. 

2- Play time

Playing with your child will help them a great deal in coping with stress. 

When you play with your kids, avoid encouraging them to compete with you or their siblings so that they can just enjoy their play time. 

You can bond with your child and relieve their stress by cycling with them, teaching them how to play basketball or staying indoors and playing chess with them.

3- Sleep time

It’s important for every child to have a regularly scheduled sleep time without fail. 

If your kids don’t get enough sleep then they won’t be able to function properly the next day. In order for them to excel in their school work and extra curricular activities they need a good night’s sleep. 

4- Listening to their bodies

Encourage your child to listen to their own bodies. If they feel tired then they should stop what they are doing and take rest so that they can recover. 

If they are feeling nervous before their first day of school then that’s normal as everybody gets those pits in their stomach. 

By listening to their bodies and respecting their feelings it will help them feel less stressful about their lives. 

5- Calming strategies 

As parents you can teach them various calming strategies which will come in handy for situations where they need to calm themselves down.

You can ask them to take deep breathes and focus on their breathing as they slowly fade away the noise around them.

You can also encourage them to imagine their favourite place in the world which can be their room, a corner of your house, beach, playground or any place that brings them joy and they can imagine themselves in these places. 

6- Calm mornings

If you want your day to be peaceful then your mornings need to start peacefully.

Having a smooth morning without rushing through breakfast or hurrying to get ready for school will allow them to enjoy the process and not feel like it’s a task. 

7- Preparation 

Kids might deal with stress because of the fear of failure or fear of making mistakes in front of you or their friends.

As parents you can explain them that mistakes are a part of life and it’s completely normal for everybody to make mistakes. 

Failure is just redirection onto a better path that might be more suited for them in the first place. 

8- Be patient

Being their parents, you should learn to always be patient with them.

No matter how much you prepare them to cope with stress there might be days when you have to let them deal with stress on their own.

This will improve their problem solving skills and allow them to be more responsible.

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