How To Help Calm Your Stressed Child Down Now
This new way of attending school is stressful for everyone involved, including our children
Imagine, as a parent of a 5-year-old, how excited you are that your firstborn child is starting school! You have worked with them over the past 4 years, grooming them, prepping them, getting them pumped for the rigours of kindergarten.
Then BAM! Covid-19 hits and the world is in disarray. The final 4 months of last years’ school year ended in chaos. Teachers and school districts scurrying to figure out how to finish up the end of their classes. Parents scrambling to figure out how their young ones were supposed to complete the rest of their schoolwork without actually attending school.
It was an extremely difficult time for everyone involved, especially those graduating in 2020. How unfair it must have felt for students and families alike, to work tirelessly towards the goal of graduating from high school, then have it ripped away in a heartbeat.
The Future
Well, it is still 2020, but it feels like it’s been forever
The new school year has come upon us, and at first it doesn’t seem like much has improved since the end of the previous school year. In July, I wrote an article about the world needing to adapt to this new way of living. Last week, I researched some businesses that have adapted. Unfortunately, schools weren’t on the list.
Granted, they have only had a few months to try to figure it all out. The fallout from this pandemic is unchartered territory for all of us, so I honestly believe they are trying their best to come up with a game plan.
Meanwhile, schools across the United States are starting the new school year virtually. There doesn’t seem to be any specific guidelines set for teachers and schools to follow, so there is no uniformity between schools or even between different “classrooms.”
Zoom, Google Meet, and Facebook Rooms are the three options that most teachers seem to be testing out. On one hand, I cannot imagine how challenging it must be for teachers to observe and learn about the 30+ children in their class while online. 95% of the educational leaders that I have had or know, genuinely want to get to know their students and help them learn.
I give major props to all of the teachers across the United States, and worldwide, that are trying their best for their students in these unusual circumstances.
On the other hand, this whole new way of attending school can affect children in a variety of ways. For example, my grandson is starting kindergarten this year, virtually. My daughter-in-law posted on Facebook how he handled his first day -
I think he is going to be just fine…
Children and Stress
Ways to help them out
Unfortunately, some children are not able to cope with the various stressors of their world right now. Parents are being laid off which may cause money struggles at home. Schools abruptly shut down and the majority of children did not get to hang out and play with their friends over the summer.
Most parents do their best to hide their worries and anxiety from their children. But kids are smart. They can feel the uneasiness in the air. Then they worry about their parents and what is going on. It becomes a vicious cycle.
Parents worry about their children and providing for them. Children worry about their parents and how it is going to affect their own lives. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways that parents can help their children reduce their stress (and these can work for the parents too!)
Yoga
Adults have been practicing yoga for thousands of years. It has many benefits, including flexibility, joint strength, increases feelings of calmness and wellness, and can bring peace.
Yoga means ‘union’ or ‘connection’. In Sanskrit, the word ‘yoga’ is used to signify any form of connection. Yoga is both a state of connection and a body of techniques that allow us to connect to anything. -Dr. Swami Shankardev Saraswati
Children can also reap the benefits of practicing yoga and is an excellent way to help ground children and relieve stress. There are many options to choose from to teach children yoga for parents who don’t practice it themselves.
Amazon has a couple of excellent, easy-to-read books.
- Listening to My Body: A guide to helping kids understand the connection between their sensations (what the heck are those?) and feelings so that they can get better at figuring out what they need by Gabi Garcia
- Calm Ninja: A Children’s Book About Calming Your Anxiety Featuring the Calm Ninja Yoga Flow (Ninja Life Hacks) by Mary Nhin.
YouTube has a really cute children’s yoga video that may visually help out struggling parents.
Gaiam has the cutest child-sized yoga mats available to encourage children to stretch and relax as often as possible!
Another interesting option that I discovered in my research for this article is online yoga classes for kids. Outschool.com offers Pretzel Kids® Yoga, with a wide array of classes available.
- 🎉New! Pretzel Kids Paint and Yoga!🎨
- Yoga Flow for Tweens/Young Teens
- Pretzel Kids® Stress-Buster Yoga for Tweens! 🧘🏻♀️🧘♂️
- Sun Salutations: Learn Suryanamaskars Pretzel Kids Style! ☀️
Meditation
Another option to consider when attempting to help children cope and de-stress is meditation. This is another time-honored ritual that adults have been practicing for thousands of years.
Meditation is a mind and body practice that has a long history of use for increasing calmness and physical relaxation, improving psychological balance, coping with illness, and enhancing overall health and well-being. Mind and body practices focus on the interactions among the brain, mind, body, and behavior. — National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
YouTube has quite a few videos teaching parents how to meditate with their children. This Meditation Instruction for Kids video is animated and geared more towards children than parents. Amazon has a best-selling meditation book for children called Breathe Like a Bear: 30 Mindful Moments for Kids to Feel Calm and Focused Anytime, Anywhere by Kira Willey.
Outschool.com also offers meditation classes for children and teens, including Relax, Let’s Do It: Intro to Mindful Meditation! ☮️ and 🕉Private/Semi-Private Mindfulness 4 Tweens/Teens.
Side note: Outschool.com is searching for more teachers to add to their roster. During these unusual times, this may be a win-win situation for anyone interested in teaching online. They teach hundreds of subjects and can offer classes mornings, afternoons, and evenings. With so many of us out of work right now because of the pandemic, picking up an online teaching gig or two may be just the answer to your needs! Click here to learn more, and good luck!
A Few Last Words…
This year has been such a struggle for everyone worldwide. As hard as it has been for the adults, I worry about the long-term effects this will have on our children and their future. I am hoping the suggestions in this article can help ease some of the anxieties children and their parents may be experiencing. If you have more ideas on how to help children deal with everything that is going on, please comment below.
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links at no extra cost to you.
