Not just adults but even kids have started referring to words like stress and depression to describe their negative thoughts and feelings.
We all know as the exam season starts, kids start showing symptoms of stress like mood swings and developing eating disorders. And at that time it becomes very easy for ANXIETY to build a home inside a child’s mind. Even if parents are aware of it, it becomes difficult to manage their emotions and encourage them to perform with confidence.
But what exactly is anxiety?
According to health experts, anxiety is a constant feeling of worrying about everyday situations in life. It presents itself through the symptoms like sweaty palms, palpitations, frustration, extreme mood swings and sometimes even dizziness.
As parents, we all face situations like these, when kids get nervous before exams or even stage performances. Here are some tips that can help you to protect kids from getting affected by anxious thoughts and feelings.
1. Anxiety peeps in with a pattern of thoughts. When kids try to multitask in exams by reading everything at once, they feel like they do not remember anything at all. And on top of that, the expectations of parents make it even more pressurizing for them. Exam thoughts collide with performance and expectation thoughts and they start feeling nervous.
At this time the best thing you can do as a parent is to have a friendly conversation with them. Sit with them and pat their back for the efforts they are putting in, as soon as they start getting distracted from the performance pressure they will start building confidence and will be able to think clearly.
You can even treat them in between their preparation time with dark chocolates and chocolate milk as a reward for their efforts. Remember not only the result but their efforts matter as well.
With that, giving them a healthy and nutritious diet helps them to stay focused. Also, make sure they are getting an adequate amount of quality sleep to feel fresh every day. Exams should not become a burden on them.
2. A famous technique to deal with stress and anxiety is the – 5,4,3,2,1 Technique.
In this, whenever your child is having episodes of stress and anxiety,
You have to make them to
1. See 5 things – Ask them to focus on their surroundings and name 5 things that are in their sight. It breaks the chain of thoughts and helps them to see the present moment as it is.
2. Touch 4 things- Tell them to touch and feel 4 things around them, it helps them realize that they are completely fine and can feel the things around them. It helps them to relax and ground themselves in times of anxiety.
3. Listen to 3 things- Listening is a very powerful sense of feeling. When kids are unable to focus on anything, listening to the sounds around them and analyzing where it is coming from helps them to focus on the environment around them.
4. Smell 2 things- When they finish listening and analyzing the sound, give them something that has a strong aroma to bring them back into the present moment.
5. Taste 1 thing- Lastly give them tangy-flavoured candies and dark chocolate. Such flavours induce a very strong taste sensation and help them to distract from anxious thoughts.
The above-mentioned technique can help them overcome an episode of anxiety but what helps them manage and become more self-aware is the support from parents. Children need emotional protection, especially now when our lives have become so fast that we hardly pause to see how our kids are doing apart from academic life and extracurriculars.
But if you take one day at a time, and help them understand one emotion at a time they are going to develop a very strong personality while growing up.
