Note:I usually refrain from parenting advice and how-to-do anything. To me, it's about as effective as how-to-eat healthy advice and sharing nutrition facts as though people eat chips because they don't know vegetables are healthier.
Navigating childhood challenges can be stressful, and sometimes deep breathing isn’t the solution that works for your child. When your child is in need of tension relief, try one of these techniques:
1. Try an inversion.
For centuries, Yogis have understood the calming power of bringing the head below the level of the heart, otherwise known as inversion. Whether it’s relaxing in child’s pose, bending over to touch your toes, or practicing a headstand—inverting the body has a restorative effect on the autonomic nervous system, which controls the body’s response to stress.
2. Visualize a quiet place.
Research has shown that visualization is beneficial for a range of populations to reduce stress levels. Ask your child to close their eyes and picture a calm, peaceful place. Then, gently guide them to slowly start to build up a picture of how it looks, smells and feels to be there.
3. Drink water.
Dehydration has been linked to a reduction in mental performance. Pour your child a tall class of cold water and have them sip it slowly. You can try this with them and observe the calming effect this has on your own nervous system.
4. Sing out loud.
Everyone knows the sweet relief associated with rocking out to your favorite tune. But the physical act of singing out loud, even if it is off key, has been shown to release endorphins—the “feel good” chemical in the brain.
5. Do the “Downward Facing Dog” pose.
Just like inversions help reset the autonomic nervous system, the yoga pose known as “Downward Facing Dog” in particular has the added benefit of activating several muscles in the arms, legs and core. This stretch helps muscles begin to burn additional blood glucose that is made available by the body’s fight or flight response.
6. Paint it out.
Not only does painting give the brain something to focus on other than the stressor, but participating in visual arts has been linked to resilience to stress in general. If the thought of dragging out the tempera gives you stress, have your child try “painting” with shaving cream on a plastic shower curtain in the yard. Not only is clean up a breeze, but your child will smell great when they are finished.
7. Jump rope.
Set a timer for 2 minutes, put on some music and challenge your child jump to the beat of the song. If your child isn’t able to jump rope, playing hop scotch is a great alternative.
8. Jump high.
Challenge your child to a jumping contest to see who can jump highest, longest, fastest, or slowest. This is another great way to get in some exercise to help your child blow off some steam.
9. Blow bubbles.
Just like blowing on a pinwheel, blowing bubbles can help your child gain control of their breathing and thus, their mental state. Bonus: Running around popping bubbles is just as fun as blowing them.
10. Take a hot bath.
After a long day at work, there is nothing more relaxing than laying in a bathtub of hot water with the lights turned down and no interruptions. The same holds true for kids. Use bath time as a chance to help your little one unwind from the activities of the day. Introduce a few simple bath toys and allow your child to relax as long as they need to.
11. Take a cold shower.
While the complete opposite of a hot bath, cold showers actually have a restorative effect on the body. Not only do cold or even cool showers reduce inflammation in the muscles, it improves heart flow back to the heart and leads to a boost in mood. One study on winter swimmers found that tension, fatigue, depression and negative moods all decreased with regular plunges into cold water.
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