Children experience stress just like teenagers and adults. Children may have incredible difficulty dealing with feelings of sadness and anger because they struggle to verbalize their feelings and haven't learned coping skills to make themselves feel better. Teachers and parents can teach guided relaxation to children to help them relax and cope with upsetting feelings.
Simple Guided Imagery
Teachers, guidance counselors and group leaders should explain what guided imagery is and its purpose before asking children to participate in it. Let the children know that guided imagery is a technique that people of all ages can use to cope with difficult situations and calm down. It's important to let them know that they should focus on taking deep breaths during a guided imagery exercise and involve all of their senses, reports Help Guide. Ask the children to name all of their senses and give them an example before you start an exercise. An example you could use is the beach, because many children feel happy when they're at the beach. Tell them that they would want to hear the waves crashing, feel the sand beneath their toes, see the blue sky, smell the salty air and taste the salty water. Then ask all the children to close their eyes and picture a place that makes them feel safe and happy.
Storytelling
Some children may have a hard time understanding guided imagery and how they're supposed to do it, so it may be easier to incorporate it into something they already do. Teachers can involve their students in guided imagery during storytelling time. Have the children close their eyes and imagine that they're in the setting of the story. Instruct them to use all of their senses to engage in the story. Ask the students what they hear, feel, smell, see and taste at different points of the story. When you use guided imagery in storytelling, you should pick a happy story that will relax children. Parents can also use this technique to help their children relax before bedtime.
Healthy Imagery
The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center reports that clinicians often use guided imagery to help people with cancer. Guided imagery can help children with cancer or other illnesses cope with the pain and the stress they may experience. To help your child through this guided imagery exercise, tell him to sit comfortably or lie down and close his eyes. Then ask him to tell you his idea of the color of sickness and the color of healthiness. He might choose black for sickness and yellow for healthiness. Ask him to visualize the black color where he's sick, and then tell him to visualize the yellow color calmly filling his body, destroying all the black. Encourage him to feel the warmth of the yellow color and the happiness that it brings. Do this with your child when he's in the doctor's office awaiting tests, when he's feeling hopeless and when he just needs a boost of encouragement.
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