Playful Parenting: Bringing Play to Every Day

Playful Parenting: Bringing Play to Every Day

Helping Kids Manage Stress

You would be hard pressed to find anyone who disagrees that kids are coping with more stress these days than ever before.

While learning to deal with some stress is a healthy part of growing up, it’s important that adults know how to recognize the signs of high stress in children and help them learn how to manage and process what they are feeling. Just like adults, each child reacts to stress differently.

Be on the lookout for these common signs, which can indicate that a child’s high stress levels could be causing them problems.

  • Behavioral changes – Some kids may withdraw or show a lack of emotion, while others may begin acting out or become more clingy than normal.
  • Change in sleep patterns – This includes difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or an increase in nightmares.
  • Upset stomach – If stomach pain is present without other signs of illness (such as vomiting, diarrhea, fever, chills, continuous pain or weight loss), it may be a manifestation of stress.
  • Regression to old behaviors – This might be seen in a regression in potty training progress, bedwetting or reverting to sucking a thumb.

Adults play a pivotal role in emotional development by helping kids identify and work through stressful feelings. Have an open conversation with your kids about what they are feeling and why it’s important to get those feelings out. Explain their feelings are valid and normal and encourage them to express themselves by listening to and comforting them. You can also reinforce problem solving skills by letting kids take the lead on building a plan for how they can deal with their stressful feelings. These are only a few of the many strategies you can use to make your kid feel heard and help them manage their stress during challenging times.

You may find it helpful to offer ideas of activities you can do together to help relieve stress.

  • Exercise is one of the best stress-relieving activities, whether it’s taking a hike outdoors, playing a sport or dancing in the living room.
  • Schedule time for relaxing activities like painting or yoga.
  • Practice meditation and deep breathing by slowly counting to four as you inhale and again as you exhale.
  • Use sensory objects, like scarves or Play Doh, to invoke feelings of calm.
  • Listen to music. It could be fun and upbeat or slow and calming.
  • Create a bedtime routine that eliminates screen time and builds in quiet family time to help kids unwind.
  • Combat stress with play! Play helps distract from everyday stresses by letting the mind focus on something else, allowing kids feel to more in control.

While we can’t keep kids from feeling stressed, we can play a crucial role in helping kids feel safe and secure during stressful times.

SUPPORTING A CHILD’S PLAY

SUPPORTING A CHILD’S PLAY

Managing Family Anxiety During Times of Stress

Whether it’s due to global events, work and school pressures, political climate, family budgets or health concerns, families are feeling increased levels of anxiety and stress these days. It’s important to recognize how these stressors can ripple through the family. Here are some effective strategies that families can adopt to help manage anxiety and foster a sense of calm and security at home.

read more

Cultivating Curiosity in Your Child

Cultivating Curiosity in Your ChildCuriosity is the desire to learn. All babies are born with a natural curiosity and instinct to explore, discover and learn about the world around them. With so many new things to see, taste, smell and feel, nurturing curiosity within...

read more

Playful Mindset Turns Chore Time into Play TIme

There’s no way around it: There are always chores to do and errands to run.
Those responsibilities don’t have to be a drag on an otherwise lovely day. What if, instead, they became a way to engage with kids and have some playful time together?

read more

Tips for Tackling the Boredom Blahs

Kids are hard-wired to play. But even for children, the free and imaginative play that research shows is best for their development doesn’t always come easily. Sometimes their energy levels are low, daily frustrations are too high or they just can’t seem to find the inspiration to create their own fun. That’s when the dreaded “I’m bored” comes out.

read more

Tips for Supporting Social-Emotional Learning in Kids

Tips for Supporting Social-Emotional Learning in Kids The pandemic undeniably affected many kids’ social-emotional development. Some studies show that younger kids are often behind in developing the skills to identify and manage big emotions – critical skills for...

read more

Benefits of Mud Play

Playing with Mud: Why It's Worth the MessMud is messy. It’s sloppy and squishy and dirty. But it’s also a great tool for discovery and growth through play. From supporting cognitive development to boosting creative thinking and self-confidence, it turns out that mud...

read more

Three Tips to Help Kids Recognize and Process Emotions

Three Tips to Help Kids Recognize and Process EmotionsAs parents and caregivers, part of our job is to pay close attention to kids’ emotions and help them recognize, identify and process the incredible range of human feelings. It’s not always easy! In fact, it’s often...

read more

Play Boosts Emotional and Mental Health in Kids

Play Boosts Emotional and Mental Health in KidsIt’s no secret that the amount of time kids spend playing has been declining. In fact, kids growing up today play an average of eight hours less per week than children did in the 1980s. The trend has prompted warnings...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This