No one likes the feelings that stress can create. Your child will try to manage their negative feelings or physical symptoms by using coping skills; however, if a child does not have healthy coping skills, negative/unhealthy strategies may form. Help them develop coping skills that will last throughout their life.
Positive coping skills are long-lasting and lead to positive outcomes and may not provide instant relief, but address the problem and improve well-being. Examples include:
- Exercise
- Healthy eating
- Getting plenty of sleep
- Venting to friends or family
- Finding the cause of stress and planning solutions
- Talking to pets
- Keeping a journal
- Using art or music as an outlet
- Relaxation techniques like deep breathing or meditation
There are also things that you can and implement in your home to help your child avoid stress:
- Maintain a regular sleep schedule
- Keep a healthy diet and limit caffeine
- Exercise regularly
- Develop a regular routine
- Limit/refrain from negative thoughts
- Take mental/physical breaks from online learning
- Don’t over-schedule/over-commit
Stress conversation starters:
- Is there anything causing you stress in your life right now?
- How stressful do you feel your life is on a scale of 1-10?
- When you get mad, sad, frustrated, or stressed how do you make yourself feel better?
- Do you feel like my (parent/guardian) stress or reaction to stress impacts you?
- Do you ever feel upset and you don’t know why?
- Is there anything I can help you with to help relieve the stress you have?