Kids can be under a lot of stress - and they pick up a lot of it from their environment, especially parents. Here are some tips to help make the stress level in your house manageable and healthy for everyone, especially the little ones.
- Know the triggers. If there are certain times of day that always seem more stressful, focus on improving those areas first.
- Live by example. Show your kids healthy stress-maintenance activities, such as working out or taking a few minutes to relax, in the way that you deal with your own stress.
- Manage conflict. Every family has conflicts. When they come up in your family, deal with them appropriately (no name-calling, no bringing up old arguments, etc)
- Don't helicopter. If you deal with every negative situation in a let's-fix-this-right-now matter, it may backfire. Kids need to learn to deal with disappointment appropriately. Listen to them share, and then work with them to find a solution, letting them lead the way.
- Break things down. The big picture can often be too much for kids to handle, but when broken down into small tasks, it increases their sense of accomplishment.
- Be healthy. Regular exercise and healthy eating is important for everyone.
- Keep it all in perspective. Bad things happen. Balancing it with a healthy perspective on what's going right in your life can help kids leave a negative situation feeling positive.
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