In a recent study researchers found that over half of 7 to 9 year olds were feeling stressed. Those with divorced parents experience additional stress as they are going between homes and trying to balance all of the other little things in their young lives. As parents we want our children to be happy and enjoy life without getting bogged down by the pressures of everyday life. We need to create an atmosphere in our home that encourages our children to relax and enjoy being little.
Don’t overschedule your children. While you want your children to stay busy and be productive, having too many activities going on can create undue pressure for them. Make down time a priority.
Let them have time during the day to just play together.
Stay connected to your children through family meal times. Sitting down together as a family gives your children the opportunity to talk about the things that are going on in their lives. This allows you to be more in tune to your child’s anxieties and will give you clues on how to help them manage them effectively. We can’t take away all of our child’s stresses, but we can help them learn how to cope with them. Family dinners are a great way to start.
Make sure your kids are getting the sleep they need during the week. Children who aren’t getting enough sleep are less able to deal with the stresses that creep into their lives. Help your child manage their homework to avoid late night studying. Keep them organized so that they don’t get overwhelmed with projects at the last minute. This too, can help ease some of their anxiety.
Get ideas from your children. Ask them questions like, “If you had an extra ten minutes a day to relax, what would you do?” This will help you know what kind of activities your children find relaxing to them. Then you have a list of suggestions for them the next time they have a particularly rough day.
Children learn from their parents. If you are high-strung and stressed out all the time, this will seep into their little lives too. Being a single parent is stressful, but the better you are at managing your stress the better your children will be able to manage theirs. Set the example and take some time to relax. You deserve it as much as your kids do!