Stress in Children: Learning the Basics of Resilience
Is There Anything Positive about Stress in Children? Stress in children is a reality of everyday life; it need not, however, tear them apart. The truth is that there is no escape from stress; it is the stuff that makes us or breaks us. It can overwhelm us and make us susceptible to illness and fear; on the other hand,like immunization, it can Typhoid Immunization in 1944 also make us strong and resilient. The effects of stress are dual: excessive stress can hurt us, yet just the right amount of stress can take us to the next level of achievement. As parents, you can help your children learn to respond to stress in an effective manner. Helping them build a repertoire of responses that they can use well into their adult years is one of the best things parents can do to cultivate a legacy of light. How to Turn Stress in Children into Resilience 1. Develop an honest and safe openness in your relationship with your children. Eliminate fear and secretiveness by accepting your children honestly and openly for who and what they are. When children understand that they are loved and accepted at a fundamental level, they will broach openly about their concerns. They will also be more accepting of advice. They will also be more willing to change their behavior if they understand that their security is not at stake. 2. How do you as parents cope with stress? Children learn from what you do and say. Do you take positive action when a problem confronts you? Do you choose optimism in the face of distress? Do you work courageously towards a solution? Do you create unnecessary stress in your children? 3. Feed your children self esteem. Words of encouragement and praise develop the inner lenses by which children see the world. Feed them positive images that secure their footing and bolster their support. Without these necessary cushions, their fall will be unnecessarily traumatic. Resilience is built through the interaction of stress and support. The world ends only when webelieve that there is nothing under us to keep us afloat. 4. Laugh with your children. Show them that nothing can be so serious that it takes away the gift of laughter. As parents, laugh at yourself; show your children that there is a humorous side to life and that being able to laugh at oneself is not only a blessing but the best tool for survival. The negative effects of stress can be washed away with a good chuckle!
5. Help your children develop strategies for relaxation.Exercise is great for managing stress in children. So are creative activities like art, music and dance.Help your children identify enjoyable and self-enhancing activities they can take up. Hiking, walking or camping in nature is something they can learn to love; nature is a healer and the more time children are allowed to enjoy time in natural settings, the stronger their sense of empathy and resilience. Allow them to wallow in their sense of joy, excitement and invincibility. These are moments that will stay in their psyche, in the deep recesses of their knowing, surfacing when they need them as the voice of the invisible. There will be moments when only the invisible can save us from ourselves. 6. Emphasize the role of stress in their lives. Tell them that challenges build character, deepen our sense of compassion and our sense of the divine. Tell them that every challenging task builds new neurons in the brain and makes new connections between cells. This neuronal activity is the basis of intelligence and brain development. Stress in children can lead them to a deeper understanding of their own power. Allow them to see difficulties as a necessary process in the journey of life. Help them understand that the key is not to avoid the challenge, but to embrace it as one of the inevitable lessons of life. To this end, having a genuine discussion with your child about his demons and how to handle them is one of the best things you can do. Identify his fears In a safe and well-structured setting, allow the child to reveal what is really bothering him. Is it his fear of losing the home, the family, mom, dad? The old familiar patterns? Encourage your child to verbalize specifically what it is that scares him? What can he not do without? What is creating the stress in his life? Then suggest gently that every vacuum that develops gets filled, sometimes with something lost, often with something new. Change is an inevitable part of life; without it, we would not have moved the way we did into the 21st century. Change is something we need to embrace, not fear. Identify ways he can dismantle his fears Fears are phantoms, creations of our minds. They feed on our vulnerability, our reluctance to acknowledge even to ourselves that there are other avenues besides the old, well-worn paths. What if the worst case scenario happens? What if....? Elaborating on possibilities eliminates their probability because demons are strengthened by silence. Talking about eventualities in a safe, open environment kills the power of phantoms. Allow your child to understand what fears are—phantoms not of what is, but what might happen. As such, they are as frightening as hot air. Look for positive ways to fill the vacuum Denuded, the fear phantom is pure emptiness. Now, you can help your child fill the vacuum with something positive, warm and fuzzy, real as the family dog. Take him to the park, the zoo or spend an afternoon working on a creative project. Nothing fills the vacuum more than images from the heart. Newly learned experiences need to be anchored with body work, finger work, mind work. Allow the contours of new responses to spiral through each cell, each neuron, creating new circuitry in the brain that gets stronger with each repetition. Stress in children is part of life's events; it is an ongoing, part of the rhythm of a child’s life. All you are doing is showing him what options are available to him when stress happens. As we all know, life happens , but it gets so much easier with a good toolbox. Stress in children an opportunity for growth.Resilience is a learned skill and the best lesson we can give them. Stress in Adults can be handled in the same way as Stress in Children Now that we've talked about stress in children. What about stress in adults? Are you stressed? You want the best for your child. You also want the best for your family. You want it hassle free, stress free. Now you can with Angie's List. Why? Because she lists the most unbiased ratings of various services. Name it--child care, housework, renovations for the home and just about any service you want. Try Angie's List. It provides the best unbiased reviews of services in your area. Now that's stress free because all the dirty work has been done for you! Get the best local child care with local unbiased reviews at Angie’s List - Try Angie’s List today! Creating a way to hang onto family events--soccer practices, birthday parties, anniversaries-- solidifies the meaning of family life. Memory Books are great ways not only to preserve photos but to let memories sink into your psyche. You are not only what you eat but what you remember!
|
