Thriving Kids Podcast Focuses on How to Help Children Manage Stress
From school pressure and social dynamics to controlling their big emotions, children face a number of situations on a daily basis that can be stressful.
It’s natural that caregivers would want to help children to make their stress go away. However, it’s important for caregivers to teach children how to manage, rather than avoid, stress.
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In the latest episode of the Thriving Kids podcast, Dave Anderson, the Child Mind Institute’s senior psychologist and vice president of public engagement and education, joins Dylan Gee, PhD, a professor of psychology at Yale University, to discuss why learning to manage stres is an important emotional skill for children.
The conversation also touches on why avoiding stress can make it worse over time and how children can learn to tolerate discomfort and recover from difficult moments. They also talk about what caregivers can do to support the process as well as how their staying calm and regulated can help a child feel safer, more supported, and better able to cope.
Additionally, the Thriving Kids podcast provided some tips on how to support a child when they’re feeling stressed:
Validate their emotions and let them know it’s normal to feel overwhelmed sometimes; using words like “frustrated,” “worried,” or “scared” can help them to identify and express their feelings.
Show genuine interest in how the child is feeling and make sure you’re actively engaged in the conversation. Listen without judging or rushing to offer solutions.
Your own emotional state can influence your child’s, so take time for self care and learn how to manage your own stress effectively.
Help the child learn that stressful situations can have many interpretations, and challenge negative thoughts by gently guiding them towards more balanced perspectives.
Help the child to learn to tolerate stress instead of trying to eliminate it by teaching them such coping strategies as deep breathing, mindfulness exercises, or creative expression.
For more information, listen to the latest Thriving Kids episode.