Stress Management for Children:
Advice from My Parents

As a parent there are times when stress management for children becomes a necessary strategy to handle circumstances that begin to escalate. As you children grow, you may witness tantrums or crying spells; sibling fights, shouting matches and stomping feet.  Adolescent anger management also has to be included in your parental guidance with kids. 

Effective parenting includes setting the tone for the family and modeling the type of behavior you want your children to learn. Stress management for children helps them learn that there is give and take in family life. Emotional meltdowns can occur when children are confronted with an unexpected circumstance or when they are demanding their own way.

Try these three strategies my parents taught me and I used them successfully with my family members. 

Take Care of Stuff.

You know that kids have a lot of stuff.  Toys, school supplies, clothes, sports equipment—the list goes on and on.  If you are not careful, the stuff is left all over the house, car, outside—everywhere.  You may find yourself tripping over kids’ clutter. 

Stress management for children begins with teaching children to pick up after themselves, put stuff away where it belongs and treat things gently so they don’t break.  Children will find that life goes smoother when they don’t have to search for a much needed item at the last minute or try to fix a cherished toy that broke from misuse.

Teaching children to be accountable for their possessions is a great life lesson that will be applied throughout their lifetime.  Why not start by having your kids keep their rooms tidy; and keep their school supplies organized; and put away sports equipment.  This strategy is a neat way to handle stress.

Not Everything Goes as Planned.

Life can be so exciting with lots of activities and events along the way.  Your kids will look forward to many events, imagining what the outcome will be.  But sometimes things turn out differently than imagined.  Maybe they didn’t win that sports tournament, or get invited to that birthday party, or get the grade they expected on their school assignment.

Often learning how to deal with situations that did not turn out they way they expected is a tough lesson for kids.  Stress management for children includes becoming able to adapt when the unexpected occurs.  Adjusting to situations that took an unexpected turn is another life lesson that will be used by your children as they grow.

Play Nice.

Stress management for children includes teaching children how to play nicely and cooperatively with others.  As children, we learn how to share each other’s stuff.  We learn to take turns when we play games.  Playing nice is an important first step in learning how to respect others, even if they have a different point of view or have a different set of talents and skills than we have.  Playing nice is a skill that if learned while young, can be practiced  well into adulthood, in the workplace, with family life, and with volunteer organizations.

Effective parenting reinforcing appropriate behavior that you want your children to adopt.  Try these strategies and see what results you get.  These three strategies worked for my parents and worked for me with my kids.  Now they can work for you.

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