Stress Proofing Your Child

These tips, adapted from the Kids Have Stress Too! Program can help prevent and reduce stress in children.

· Ensure that children eat nutritiously, and get plenty of exercise and sleep. Physically fit, healthy and well-rested children are more resilient to the effects of stress.

· Give children lots of hugs, kisses and affection. Children who feel safe and secure are more stress-resistant.

· Watch carefully for signs that your child is having a stress-related problem. McDerment suggests doing a daily unobtrusive “check”: Does your child look sad, tired, worried or tense?

· Help young children articulate how they are feeling, using words they understand. Are they mad, glad or sad? Take time to listen to what they’re saying, without interrupting or finishing their sentences.

· Don’t trivialize or dismiss your child’s feelings, no matter how over-exaggerated they may seem to you. “Problems come with feelings attached, and you have to acknowledge those feelings,” says McDerment.

· Make sure children have some downtime to unwind and recharge. A child who is over scheduled is a tired child-and a stressed one. McDerment suggests that two activities a week are sufficient, geared to the individual needs of the child. She recommends that parents choose one of the activities, and children the other.

· Help children develop good problem-solving skills. Children who are able to work out solutions to their problems themselves gain a sense of control.

· Promote positive self-talk. When a child starts berating himself for something that’s gone wrong, for example, encourage him to say instead, “Hey, I’m not such a loser, I do lots of things right.” Or “Gee, it isn’t all that bad; I’ll do better next time.”

· Teach children the calming effect of taking a few deep breaths, “It’s the easiest, most accessible and most underutilized stress strategy available,” says MCDerment


For more information on the Kids Have Stress Too! Parent education program, contact the Psychology Foundation of Canada at 480 University Ave., Suite 800, Toronto M5G 1V2; 416-595-9966; www.psychologyfoundation.org
Nora Underwood pg 140 homemaker’s October 1999

Ch 7 handout