The Seven Steps to Stress Management for Kids

Kids can also learn how to deal with stress on their own terms and in their own way. Memorizing a few stress management strategies can give kids access to help when they need it most — during a test, on a date or before a big performance. Show this list to your kids, post it on the refrigerator, or, better yet, e-mail it to them. They might just read it and they might even use it (whether they tell you about it or not).

Talk about it. Feeling stressed? Tell a friend. Call it a vent, a rant, or a rage, but do it! Share your stress daily and you’ll ease the burden. Listen to a friend venting stress and ease your friend’s burden, too.
Go with the flow. Things aren’t what you expected? That friend isn’t who you thought? That class is way harder than you think you can handle? Go with the flow. Move along with changes in your life rather than resist them. Be like a river that finds the easiest way around obstacles and just keeps on flowing.
Find a mentor. Parents are great, but sometimes you feel more ready for advice from a non-parental adult. Teachers, counselors, coaches, bosses, aunts, uncles, ministers, priests, or other adult friends who have already been through what you are going through can make great mentors. Find a person that you can relate to and let him or her help you out when you need some advice or a good example.
Get organized. That test wouldn’t be so stressful if you hadn’t lost all your notes. You might be able to relax a little more easily in your room if you could get from the door to the bed without stepping on piles of junk. Work out a system that you can live with, and get organized. It’s a good project, a great hobby, and a skill you’ll value for the rest of your life.
Establish good habits now. You’ve probably seen adults who have obviously led a life of bad health habits and are paying for it now. This doesn’t have to be you. If you start forming good health habits while you are still a kid, you’ll have a healthier life ahead of you. Try to exercise for about thirty minutes on most days, and eat lots of fresh, healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat sources of protein such as lean meat, fish, beans, tofu, yogurt, and milk. Drink lots of water, and get enough sleep — enough so that you don’t feel tired during the day.
Adjust your attitude. Sometimes it’s easiest to be cynical or expect the worst, but studies show that people who have a positive attitude get less sick, recover from sickness and injuries faster, and may even live longer. Life is a lot more fun when you look on the positive side. It’s a habit you can learn.
See the big picture. Life may seem to revolve around that humiliating thing you said in front of the whole class last week or that failing grade or the team you didn’t make. Whenever things seem horrible or hopeless, remind yourself to step back and look at the big picture. How will you feel about this in a year? In five years? When you are an adult with a satisfying career and a fulfilling personal life? If you learn to look at temporary setbacks with an “Oh well, moving right along” attitude, life will seem much less stressful.

Eve Adamson