How early does it start?

[NellyDee29]

Yes, children should be taught how to coup with stress from a tender age. But we should be good listeners to young kids and know when they're stressed this will help them open up and share their feelings. As they grow older they will learn how to share difficult situations with their close ones rather than keeping to themselves which can turn out to a depression.

[grgmrn]

Yes, I do believe that many if not most of the practices outlined in the book will definitely be helpful to children.

[Kelyn]

Communication between a parent and child about all day to day issues is a get way to reduce anxiety and keep the balance between them. In this way, any odd behavior related to stress can be recognized and you can solve the reasons for the stress together.

Yes, stress is something we all unconsciously avoid. Children do not have ay natural stress coping mechanisms and that can mean they ignore the problem altogether. it may later become accumulated can be a reason of stress. That is why a regular communication with them is required so that you can pick up the anxiety in children a help them solve it.

Yes, communication between parent and child is the optimal situation for helping a child deal with stress and anxiety. A parent is best equipped to notice changed behaviors in a child that might indicate stress. However, I must disagree when you say that children do not have any natural stress coping mechanisms. The simple act of play and using their imagination can, at least temporarily, alleviate a child's stress until a parent can intervene or if a parent is unavailable to help. Teaching children some of the stress reduction techniques in the book would provide them an even more powerful arsenal in the 'battle' against their fears and anxieties. Thanks for stopping in and sharing your thoughts with us!

[Kelyn]

The ultimate personality of a being develops from what he learnt in his childhood. Those details become the basic behaviour of a person. I believe parents too play a great role in how their child becomes. The book talks about several remedies, and theses remedies should be followed as a parent too.

I also believe that parents play a significant role in how children react, not only to stress and anxiety, but to the world around them as well. However, this evokes the discussion of nature vs. nurture. But, in my opinion, which side of the argument one is on doesn't really matter. Either way, the techniques in the book are promising methods of helping children deal with stress and anxiety. I appreciate you stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us!

[Kelyn]

Anxiety can only start when someone starts the interpretation of thoughts in terms of what to expect out of a situation (Anxiety is intense worry and fear about future events and occurring events)

So, if a child is experiencing Anxiety it means the natural methods can work even better than in adults because it is easier to manipulate a child's thought than the adult's thought.

Interesting point. I don't know that I'd go so far as to say that teaching them techniques to deal with stress is "manipulating their thoughts." To me, it's more akin to teaching them (i.e. adding to their knowledge). I've never considered teaching to be manipulative although I suppose there are teachers and parents out there that might try to take advantage of a child by being manipulative. That would be subverting the techniques taught in the book, though, not encouraging their use. Your point is definitely something to think about. Thanks for sharing it with us!

[Kelyn]

The stress needn't rise steadily when told something is of less importance. The parents shouldn't dismiss the topic but 'show' them that these psychological difficulties were undergone by themselves at a young age.

No, it needn't rise, but that is the inevitable result of having their fears and stresses 'brushed off' rather than addressed by the parent and helping the child understand them. I agree that the parents sharing that they went through similar things as a child is a great idea, and possibly therapeutic in and of itself. However, teaching the child to how to deal with his/her fears is also necessary. Several of the techniques in the book, such as breathing techniques and meditation, can be adjusted down for child use and help the child cope with their anxiety. Thanks for dropping in and sharing your thoughts with us!

[Kelyn]

I definitely think these practices can help children. Because learning them from an earlier age will make it easier for them to find what works for them. Plus it reduces the stigma associated with anxiety and stress.

Precisely. The earlier a child learns to cope with their fears and stresses the better. You make a good point that it will give them the opportunity to fine tune methods that work for them. Having been taught techniques, such as the ones in the book, as a natural part of their lives, the hope is that they will not associate anxiety with stigma. Excellent input! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us!

[Kelyn]

This is an excellent question and I agree with you that, just because the person anxious is a child, his/her fears should not be dismissed. Rather, childhood is the time to learn tools on how to handle stress and anxiety, so yes. I think many of these practices can be adapted for helping children.

In my own experience as a mother, I can say that the largest red flag that a child is anxious or under stress is if he/she squabbles and bickers with siblings. Children don't always have the outlets (or the tools) adults have for dealing with stress. Taking it out on a sibling is a "safe" outlet. If your kids are constantly bickering and squabbling, it's NOT normal. Try to find the source of their stress. Take care of THAT, and sibling bickering goes away.

I don't think I ever connected sibling squabbles with one or all of them being stressed, but I agree that it would provide a safe way to vent anxieties. Perhaps that is why children can be angels at school but turn into demons when they come home. They have entered a safe place to vent their anxieties. I have to wonder if any of the techniques/practices could be adapted for use with multiple children. I imagine meditation would be the most likely. What do you think? I appreciate your stopping in and adding to the conversation!

[Kelyn]

As with all behavior I believe we can help children learn how to correctly handle stress and anxiety. If not taught how to handle it, the stresses have the potential to build up until it is too much to handle. More natural approaches are definitely preferable and doable.

That's a great question. I believe that this book helps everyone, especially children. It's important not to let anxiety build up in a child. They need to be able to talk to someone.

Yes, children should be taught how to coup with stress from a tender age. But we should be good listeners to young kids and know when they're stressed this will help them open up and share their feelings. As they grow older they will learn how to share difficult situations with their close ones rather than keeping to themselves which can turn out to a depression.

Yes, I do believe that many if not most of the practices outlined in the book will definitely be helpful to children.

I agree that it is vital that we listen to our children and take their anxieties seriously rather than brushing them off as inconsequential. Parents acknowledging these stresses and teach their children techniques, such as those in the book, will help the child to deal with stresses as they come rather than letting them stew and build up inside them. Being there for your child to talk to and helping them learn that it's alright to share their feelings with you is a stress relief technique in and of itself.

Thanks to you all for joining in our conversation! Your input is appreciated!

[Anna Dougherty]

Children's problems and concerns aren't taken seriously enough because of adults dismissing them just because they are children.

[rahilshajahan]

The stress needn't rise steadily when told something is of less importance. The parents shouldn't dismiss the topic but 'show' them that these psychological difficulties were undergone by themselves at a young age.

No, it needn't rise, but that is the inevitable result of having their fears and stresses 'brushed off' rather than addressed by the parent and helping the child understand them. I agree that the parents sharing that they went through similar things as a child is a great idea, and possibly therapeutic in and of itself. However, teaching the child to how to deal with his/her fears is also necessary. Several of the techniques in the book, such as breathing techniques and meditation, can be adjusted down for child use and help the child cope with their anxiety. Thanks for dropping in and sharing your thoughts with us!

Yes, "brushing off" something that can cripple someone psychologically is a bad idea, especially at a young age. Personally, I have never seen a parent teaching kids breathing techniques or meditation to cope with stress. Maybe, that concept isn't bad.

[Mys_Trea]

I think it's Important that we teach kids from an early age on how to acknowledge and deal with stress. The reality is that they do experience these feelings and should be able to count on us to reassure them that it's normal to be scared or anxious, and that there are ways to handle it.

[houligan19]

Yes, definitely. My 7 year old gets anxious and knows to sit himself down and breathe. He has herbal medicines we help him make.
He does better than I do with anxiety sometimes because he has been taught natural remedies since he was born, unlike myself.
He doesn't ever get sick either.

[JGretz-7]

Being a teacher, a lot of the social-emotional curriculums do assist children to recognize how their body is responding. When they are able to notice themselves escalating or panicking, then they can use some of the techniques like deep-breathing to help return them to a state of calm. We use these methods even with our kindergarteners. Validate what they are feeling, help them figure out why, and give them tools to do this on their own. It's very powerful! Given that we are in the midst of a pandemic right now, I think it's all very timely as well. As students begin to return to school, there will definitely be additional stressors.

[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

In my observation I have found that anxiety starts when we are at a tender age. However, most children have ways of processing anxiety more effectively.