Children experience stress and anxiety just like adults, although they may demonstrate the effects differently. Children who are stressed may act out in their daily lives, misbehaving more often. Children who are potty trained may revert and begin to wet the bed at night, or they may have difficulty sleeping. Jennifer Jazwierska, a nationally certified school psychologist, explains that relaxation can help children focus better, improve their attention span and aid in the healing process.
Laughter
Laughing releases chemicals in the brain that immediately makes a person feel better, relieves stress and can even decrease pain. Finding ways to make children laugh, whether it is through silly games, making faces or an old-fashioned tickling session, can help kids relieve stress and relax. It can also take the mind off the thing that is causing the stress or anxiety in the first place.
Guided Imagery and Breathing
Deep breathing is an excellent way to help children relax. Guided imagery helps to accomplish this in younger children. Jazwierska and Kids Relaxation website offer a simple exercise to help children practice deep breathing. Ask the child to make a fist with both hands and pretend that the left hand is a flower and the right hand is a candle. Ask her to take a deep breath in to smell the flower, and then blow out as if blowing out the candle. Have her picture the flower and the candle and ask questions about what they look like to encourage the child to really use her imagination to picture it. She should repeat smelling the flower and blowing out the candle several times to obtain focus and relaxation.
Blow Bubbles
Blowing bubbles is a tool that is both enjoyable to children of all ages, and it can encourage relaxation through deep breathing and help eliminate a child's worries and concerns. Kids Relaxation website explains that children are encouraged to think of any worries or fears that they have, and imagine that they are blowing them into the bubbles. When the bubble floats away, the worry or fear goes along with it, leaving the child, never to return. Blowing the bubbles also encourages them to take deep breaths, which promotes relaxation.
