Tips for Helping Your Child Manage Stress

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Stress, in layman language, is a feeling people have when they are overloaded or overworked, and struggle to cope with pressure and demands. These pressures can be work, finance, relationship, or situation created. A certain amount of stress is a motivator; however, when stress is high or there are multiple stresses at the same time, they can affect a person’s mental and physical health and well-being.

We often believe that childhood is a fun and relaxed period of life. However, like adults, children also experience stress. This could be due to different reasons, such as academic stress, relationship stress, social and peer stress, health stress and so on. Children deal with stress in both healthy and unhealthy ways. They are often hesitant to discuss what is bothering them, but it is the duty of parents and teachers to reach out to them and help them cope with their anxiety.

We encourage this at SKS World School, the best CBSE School in Greater Noida West.

Child stress is a global problem but the situation in India is very alarming. India has one of the highest incidents of suicide in the ages between 15 and 29 years. Some factors that contribute to this are our education system, that focuses on memorization and needs long hours of study, leaving hardly any time for sports and other recreational activities that help reduce stress, such as yoga, dance, music, drama, art and so on. Performance in Class XII examinations decides admission to colleges, which is a cause of stress. For science students who want to pursue a career in engineering or medicine, and even those who want to pursue law, there is the pressure of competitive exams with tremendous competition. This adds to the anxiety of students. Pressure from parents, teachers, and tutors to do well causes stress in students. We need to understand that marks in examinations do not define a student. Success lies in what a student or any person, does with his resources, and the action he takes to put those talents to best use. Our school, college and university system also need reform. We understand this at SKS World School, the best CBSE School in Greater Noida West.

Effects of Stress

Stress leads to rapid breathing, high blood flow, sweating, increased alertness, less sleep or lack of sleep, slow digestive and immune functions, tense muscles and so on. In extreme cases, nausea may also occur.

How to Help your Child Manage Stress

Parents can play an important role in helping the child manage stress in an effective way. This is a training not only for the student life but for facing challenges in later life, such as professional stress, relationship stress and so on. We keep telling parents this at SKS World School, the best CBSE School in Greater Noida West.

Some tips on helping your child manage stress are

  1. Listen to your Child: Patiently listening to your child, her anxieties and concerns are important. You need to show your child that you are concerned and care for her. You should have a casual conversation with her now and then, and watch out for signs of stress.
  2. Be a Cheerleader and Supporter: Help your child be in a happy mood, and encourage and motivate your child. A positive environment at home helps manage stress. You should take interest in the content that your child is learning, and help him develop a working style that produces best results. Family time is a protective factor in dealing with the pressures of school life as well as later life.
  3. Sports and Recreational Activities: Encourage your child to play for some time every day. He can play the sport of his choice, such as cricket, football, hockey, tennis and so on. If it is not possible to play outdoors due to rain, heat or cold, or scarcity of time, he can play indoor games such as table tennis, ludo, carom, chess etc. Games that aid learning, such as chess, scrabble and so on are also good. At SKS, the best CBSE School in Greater Noida West, students enjoy excellent sports facilities.
  4. Yoga and Meditation: Yoga and meditation can help the child focus better on studies and increase concentration level. It gives peace of mind and positive energy. At SKS, the best CBSE School in Greater Noida West, we organize yoga and meditation classes weekly.
  5. Reward: Reward your child when he performs well. It could be a small gift, an outing or a picnic, a movie or concert, or a day watching a cricket match at a stadium and so on.
  6. Encourage her to face situations: Encourage your child to face situations boldly, and to become tough in dealing with challenges of life.
  7. Partner with the Teacher: Parent-teacher meetings are a good platform to interact with teachers about your child’s progress, problems if any, and ways to improve his or her behavior, attitude, and performance. You need to work closely with the school to bring out the best in your child.