We all experience stress in our every day lives to varying degrees. However, it's only as my children have grown older that I've begun looking at how stress manifests in them and how they deal with it.
With my eldest daughter, I find that most of the time she manages to cope fairly well by just shrieking at her siblings to just leave her alone; however, it's the times that she really screams at them and then races up the stairs in a foul temper that most concerns me. It's at these times that I become vividly aware of the fact that she doesn't really cope very well at all under extreme stress and it makes me wonder how she'll keep it together when she is older.
Of course, it's not just my 10 year old who experiences episodes of stress and anger; it happens with my younger children too and it appears to happen to the children of many of my friends.
As parents we need to be there for our children and it's important, I think, to teach them stress-coping and anger management strategies.
Stress is difficult enough to cope with when you're an adult but when stress turns to anger the results can be very destructive for everyone involved.
In my case, when I find my daughter weeping on her bed after one of these anger outbursts my heart breaks. When questioned about what has made her so angry her response is usually that she doesn't know. Other times she tells me her brother or sister were just really annoying her and she needed them to be quiet - or she simply needed to get away from them. Much of it is probably hormonal as she approaches her teenage years, but since she's always been a fairly highly-strung (for want of a better phrase) child, I've realised it's time to work that little bit harder at helping her.
And I've just come across what appears to be an interesting and very promising programme: Relax Kids.
Relax Kids offers absolutely loads of help to parents (and teachers) in the form of books and CDs which teach children how to cope with anxiety and self-esteem issues - as well as teaching anger management techniques which they can apply to their everyday lives.
Relax Kids CDs and Books are available for multiple age groups. Ranges available to parents and schools include:
- Fairytale - for children up to age 7
- Chill Skills - for children 7 to 13
- Relax Your Child - from 6 years onwards
- Healthy Schools - for children of all ages
Individual cds are also available to help in the following areas:
- Anger Management
- Concentration
- Anxiety and Worry
In addition, a Relax your Child 4 Cd pack is also available.
If you want to find out more about the Relax Kids programme, check out their website now and find out how you can effectively and enjoyably help your child learn practical relaxation skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.
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