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Stress ~
Hi,
I teach a lot of parenting classes and love working with parents about all kinds of parening issues.
Sometimes when I mention that kids experience stress ... parents are surprised as if only adults experience stress. It's not easy growing up ... and kids experience a lot of stress. They may be stressed about school, friends, teachers, homework, sports, expectations they have of themselves ...
It's important to teach our kids how to manage stress in healthy ways ...
here are some tips:
Talk to a trusted adult
Get your body moving, run, yoga, walk, play basketball
Draw a picture of what is making you feel stressed
Write in a journal
Talk to a friend
Describe what the stress feels like in your body (squiggles in my tummy etc)
At the end of the day, as you're tucking your kids in bed, it's nice to ask 'What was the hardest part of your day?' and 'What was the best part?' This opens up communication and allows kids to express what was hard and good, and put it all to rest to get a good night's sleep.
What are some ways you help your kids deal with stress? Let us know~
Nancy
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