Are Your Kids Stressed?

Believe it or not, children have many stresses, just as adults do. The tension may be caused by having trouble with homework, worry about taking a test, or not being asked to a dance, but the physical consequences are the same. Most stress response habits- including using food to ease tension- begin in youth. Relaxation techniques are good for all members of the family.

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Basic Relaxation Excercise

1. Get comfortable in a chair and then close your eyes.

2. Tighten your leg and feet muscles. Now relax them and feel how relaxed your legs are.

3. Tighten your stomach muscles. Make them really tight. Now relax your stomach muscles. Make them as relaxed as your legs all the way down to your feet.

4. Keeping your eyes closed, stretch out your arms and make a very tight fist. As tight as possible, really gripping. Now relax your arms. See how relaxed your arms and your stomach and your legs and your feet are.

5. Now slowly rock your head from side to side. This relaxes the neck muscles. Go very slowly, side to side. Now stop.

6. Wrinkle up your face. Now relax your face.

7. Press your tongue up against the roof of your mouth. Now relax your tongue. That helps your insides to relax.

8. Feel how relaxed your face and your arms and your stomach, and your legs are, all the way down to your toes.

9. Now take a deep breath and then let it out very slowly, keeping all your muscles relaxed.

10. You should feel relaxed all the way down to your feet.

11. Now picture yourself in your favorite spot- under the sky, by the ocean, in the woods, see yourself there.

12. At the same time, be silent for about two minutes and then count to five and open your eyes.

Try reading these actions to your child while they do them, or record your soothing voice reading them.