Do you wonder how to help your children cope with stress?
In light of Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re sharing some tips to help you support your children if they are experiencing stress or low mood. Over time, stress can have an effect on mental well-being if it’s not resolved. High levels of stress can sometimes cause lower concentration levels and lead to daily activities becoming harder, too.
Children and teenagers may experience stress for many reasons. It could be difficulty settling into a new school, disagreements in friendships, exam stress or something else entirely.
As a parent, you may feel helpless when your child is distressed and be worried about how you can help them. But there are ways you can support your children. Showing children ways to unwind and regulate their emotions can be an effective way for them to de-stress. Encouraging your children or teens to take care of themselves could be the first step they take to look after their mental wellbeing. Check out some of the ways you can support them below.
How can I support my child through periods of stress?
Make their home their safe space
As a parent, a simple but effective thing you can do to support your child is making sure they feel safe and calm at home. If school is stressful to them, coming home to a safe and calm environment is key so they can begin to relax. So how can you do this?
- Try and maintain a tidy, clutter free environment. Tidy house tidy mind is a real thing!
- Try and keep their bedroom a stress-free zone so they don’t associate stress with where they sleep and spend their time (for example if they find homework stressful, encourage them to do homework in a different room)
- Make sure their bed is comfy and that they have a set bedtime routine. Sleep can be essential when going through times of stress
- Create a “calming corner” for them to feel like they can go to if they are feeling low or stressed
These are just a few ways to maintain a calm home to get you started but there are plenty of ways you can do this. Having a discussion with your child about what makes them feel calm could also help.
Introduce them to self-care
Self-care isn’t just for adults. It’s for everyone, including children and teenagers. Everyone needs time to show themselves love in one way or another, especially in times of stress. This is even more important for children and teenagers who may not have learnt ways to cope with or relieve their stress. Introducing them to ways they can look after themselves when they are feeling low is a great place to start.
A few ways you could support them in their self-care journey could be:
- Making their favourite dinner with them
- Running them a bath or showing them how to run it
- Introducing them to and practicing breathing techniques
- Doing yoga together
- Drinking plenty of water
- Having snacks that are healthy, such as fruit
Make sure they know they can talk to you
Sometimes, the best way to process thoughts and stress is to talk to someone and this can be the same for children, even if they don’t always know how to talk about their emotions. As a parent, your child will see you as someone they can talk to and rely on. It’s important they feel comfortable to be able to have a conversation with you when they feel vulnerable. One way you can let them know you are available to talk is to verbally reassure your child that you’re always there for them and let them come to you in their own time. You can also instigate a conversation with your child about their mental health yourself if you feel this could be effective.
Get them a journal
No matter what age you are, writing down thoughts and feelings in the privacy of a journal can be a great way to relieve stress. If your child doesn’t already have one, try getting them a journal and encouraging them to write in it. By doing this, your child will be able to express their feelings through writing, without the pressure of discussing their feelings when they don’t feel like talking. This also will help them process any emotions they felt in the day.
Spend quality time with them
It’s so important to do things that will cheer your children up when they experience a low mood. A great way to do this is to spend quality time with them doing their favourite things. Maybe this could be going to the park, getting ice cream or visiting their favourite place. Maybe it’s something more simple like watching their favourite film, playing in the garden, or making their favourite treat.
You might want to introduce them to some mindfulness activities which you can do together such as these lovely crafts combined with a camping trip!
Colouring is a wonderful mindfulness activity which can help them relax and help their mind to process thoughts and feelings. You could also spend time together crafting which is another fantastic calming activity. This make your own stressball is a great craft to do as your child will have something practical they can use at the end, too. And maybe you could go rockpooling?
You’ve reached the end of the blog but we hope you’ve enjoyed it and found some useful tips to support your children.
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