As an adult, you’re all too familiar with stress. Children experience stress too but differently than adults. It’s important to teach your children effective stress coping skills now so that they’re as prepared as they can be when adulthood strikes. Here are some ways you can help your child cope with stress.

Talk About It

Your child may be a bit reluctant to talk to you about the stress he/she is experiencing. Talking about stress is a great way to cope with it. Ask your child open ended questions, such as, “How was your day?” This allows your child to open up to you on his/her terms about what happened during the day.

Stop and Smell the Roses

Being on the go comes with its own stress and may make things worse for your child. It’s time to stop and smell the roses and simplify your schedules. Cutting down on activities can help reduce stress for you and your child.

Be a Role Model

If you child sees you have a stress-induced meltdown, he/she may tend to react the same way. How do you manage stress? What makes you feel calm about how you manage stress? Talk about that with your child to help him/her find the perfect way to manage stress.

Teach Calming Strategies

Teaching your child quick calming strategies is another great way to cope with stress. Breathing techniques are a great example of calming strategies. Teach your child to slowly inhale through the nose while counting to 3. Then, exhale through the mouth slowly. Another calming strategy is to slowly count to ten. Sometimes, we just need a time out to calm down.

Unfortunately, we all experience stress but how we cope with it is what matters most. Stress can cause a host of physical and mental ailments, but, with proper management, those ailments can be kept at bay.

Take care,
Dr. Grinnell