Stress in a child: how to relieve stress with the help of games? Let's play with some paint. Causes and consequences of childhood stress

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Lusine Khachatryan, pediatrician, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Children's Diseases, Moscow State Medical University. M.I. Sechenov.

early childhood

Even at an early age, a child can experience stress. It can be associated with illness, separation from the mother (even short-term), cutting teeth, first visits to doctors (and in general meetings with strangers and unusual people for the child, especially those who touch him), going to kindergarten, change in climate or time zone.

Symptoms:

hyperactivity (a consequence of increased excitability), atypical sleep disturbance, problems with appetite (up to a complete refusal to eat), causeless tearfulness, frequent (obsessive) facial movements, tics, fussiness or even aggression.

What should parents do

  • Keep track of your sleep and wake patterns. The younger the child, the more prolonged rest he needs (not only at night, but also during the day).
  • If the child has restless sleep, then it suits him breathing exercises and quiet games. Creative activities will also help: drawing, modeling from plasticine. Parents should also make sure that the TV is not turned on too often.
  • Keeping your child safe is one of the basic needs at an early age. Keep physical contact, hold the hand, hug the child, because the child must feel that you are near.
  • For future changes, such as visiting kindergarten and even more so, the nursery group of the child must be prepared in advance.
  • If a child of 2-5 years old shows aggression in everyday situations - in relation to other family members or even toys - then he will benefit from age-appropriate hardening and water procedures that relieve nervous tension. Often, pet therapy is also recommended, when animals help to cope with various problems.

Junior classes

Stress during this period is the body's reaction to a change in the usual course of things, which children cannot control on their own. The school radically changes the way of life to which the child has already become accustomed. The regime becomes more rigid, there are many duties, responsibility, unknown circumstances of the "new" life. School is the first friends and the first quarrels, worries about grades. Internal fears are formed, as the child more consciously and critically analyzes what is happening around.

Symptoms:

fatigue, memory impairment, mood swings, trouble concentrating, difficulty falling asleep and interrupted sleep, bad habits(the child begins to bite his nails, pens, bite his lips), isolation and isolation, stuttering, frequent headaches, causeless irritability.

What should parents do

  • It is necessary to adapt to the school regime - go to bed and wake up at the same time. This is especially useful for increased fatigue and memory impairment.
  • Shower at a comfortable temperature (avoid excessively hot water) to improve the quality of sleep.
  • Proper nutrition and additional intake of children vitamin complexes- the cause of excessive irritability is often a lack of needed by the body substances.
  • Spend more time together, including playing games. Games help children transfer their anxiety to play situations and relieve stress.
  • Try to gently talk about what worries the child, and discuss possible problems refraining from evaluation.
  • Regular physical activity also helps relieve mental strain and increases the child's resilience to stressful situations. Running, cycling, skiing, tennis, dancing, swimming - choose what your child likes best.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO "CURE STRESS" IN A CHILD?

The use of drugs is permissible only if the drugs are allowed for children and are suitable for the current activities of the child.

“Homeostres is suitable for the situations described above, since this drug with a complex of plant components is able to simultaneously eliminate both psycho-emotional and physical manifestations of stress,” notes Lusine Khachatryan, Doctor of Medical Sciences. – In addition, it normalizes sleep, giving the body the opportunity to restore its adaptive resources and “reset” everything negative emotions left over from the day before. And preparations based on valerian and various soothing teas are suitable only when the child is not performing tasks that require increased concentration of attention.

Nervous tension can manifest itself when:
  • Behavior that does not correspond to their development, namely, they begin to behave as they did at a younger age - they suck their fingers or ask for hands and much more;
  • Excessive obedience;
  • Closure;
  • The appearance of defects or stutters in speech;
  • Increased fatigue;
  • Interruptions in appetite;
  • Nail biting.
Having noticed these signs in their children, parents should reconsider their workload and definitely reduce it. To do this, you need to understand

Psychogymnastics to help

Psychogymnastics will help the child to better express their feelings and understand others. You can play the following games:
  • Get acquainted with emotions - learn to display them according to your state;
  • Modeling behavior in specific life situations - for example, going to the garden;
  • Psychomuscular fun - muscle tension and relaxation: jumping, squeezing and unclenching the fists.

How to relieve stress in a child using logorhythmics?

Logorhythmics is the relationship of music, movements and speech presented in game exercises. The main principle of action is to imitate, you show, and the child repeats after you. You can play games like this:
  1. It is raining: the baby listens, then tries to beat the rhythm of the drops with his palms;
  2. Strong wind: deep breath through the nose and stretch out the sound "u-u-u-u-u". Also perform dance movements, which will help in relieving muscle tension;
  3. Tree and wind: swing arms and torso from side to side, then everything calms down and slows down, stretch higher into the growth of a tree. This harmonizes the state of the child, distracts and calms.
It is also necessary to take into account age features child. For example, before the age of two, the baby may experience stress from separation from the mother or illness. Remember that children are your mirror, they often reflect your state. As a small person grows older, they may be affected by peer relationship problems or academic failures. There is also information overload from television, huge amount computer games. After reviewing your tomboy's daily schedule, see where he slips, and how in time relieve stress in a child, you already know. Perhaps at first it will be difficult for you to remember all the games and methods on the go. Do not be discouraged, over time this will be deposited in memory and you will easily use them in Everyday life.
Video: "Stress Relief in Children"

The main way to deal with stress in children under two years of age is increased attention, caress, care of parents. Already with a child of 5 months they help in overcoming stress joint games, for example, hide and seek. While playing, the child understands that parents do not disappear forever, that soon they will appear. Parents always appear, they are somewhere nearby, even if the child does not see them all the time.

Influence matters a lot breastfeeding to the child's stress. For small child being at the mother's breast is the best sedative. Breastfeeding both mother and child is forced to distract from problems, focus on each other. The child thus feels protected.

The mood of the parents matters a lot. Aggression, depression of adults only exacerbate the condition of the child.

Children 2-5 years old

Very common at this age is stress in a child after kindergarten. Parting with parents for the whole day, new conditions, people - all this is stress for the baby. The child is faced with the need to communicate daily with peers for a long time, and the experience of such communication is usually not enough. The child feels insecure in the new environment, and there are no parents around to hide behind.

Signs:

  • Regression in behavior: return to the nipple, the child again urinates in the bed, in the pants.
  • Fear, aggression, uncontrollable fits of rage, bad mood.
  • Hyperactivity. At increased activity the temperature may rise from stress in a child.
  • Stuttering, nervous movements.
  • Tears in response to everything new.

You can help your child in the following ways:

At any age, stress can occur in a child after the hospital. Often, calm, balanced children become capricious after a stay in the hospital, cry at night, ask to be held. At this time, you need to be very attentive and affectionate to the child, not to overstrain him with active games, new impressions. We need to help him regain his confidence.

junior schoolchildren

The most common causes:

  • Difficulties at school: poor progress, grades, competition, fear of teachers.
  • Problems in communication with peers.
  • Home Changes: Birth younger brother or sisters, divorce of parents, moving.

Symptoms:

To overcome stress in younger children school age need to find out its cause. This can be helped by casual conversation during a walk, drawings in which children often depict their fears, role-playing games in which the child must show how he would behave in a certain situation. Using abstract examples, you need to teach the child to cope with unpleasant situations.

Teenagers

Signs of stress:

  • Loneliness. Withdrawal from communication with peers and family.
  • Uncertainty.
  • Absent-mindedness.
  • Fatigue, bad dream.
  • Irritability, aggressiveness.
  • Restlessness.
  • Overeating, smoking, drinking alcohol.
  • An obsessive desire to lose weight, build muscle.

To help a teenager overcome stress, you need to give him the opportunity to speak out. How more baby says, the faster the emotional sharpness of what happened is lost.

A good method is to model the situation, that is, the child should imagine that the traumatic situation was resolved by others, less in a painful way. It is important to make it clear to the child that no one is immune from mistakes, stressful situations. You can talk about your childhood, experiences and experiences.

Not all teenagers are easy to contact. AT special occasions You need the help of an experienced psychologist.

The main manifestation of stress in a child is abrupt change his behaviour. Some babies may behave like babies: they begin to suck their thumb, wet the bed. Older children become withdrawn and silent, avoid communication with peers and adults. Stress can manifest itself in frequent mood swings, outbursts, loss of control over one's behavior. A sign of stress is a convulsive tic: twitching of individual muscles, frequent swallowing, winding strands of hair around a finger, etc. Against the background of stress, a child may develop increased fatigue, nausea, and psychosomatic disorders.

What are the causes of childhood stress?

Stress in a child is a reaction to something new, with which the baby, due to lack of experience, cannot cope. The mechanism of childhood stress triggers the invasion of something unfamiliar and unpleasant into the life of a child, which can haunt him in the form or memories. The causes of stress reactions largely depend on the age of the baby.

In newborns and children under 2 years of age

In a newborn or small child, a stressful condition can be triggered by illness or separation from the mother (or other loved ones). The kid is sensitive to the experiences of adults and can "infect" their stress.

In children aged 2 to 5 years

Stress in a preschooler can be caused by short-term or long-term separation from loved ones, visits to a hairdresser or doctor, as well as other disturbances in the usual way of life.

In children of primary school age

In a child under the age of 10, failures in school, difficult relationships with classmates and teachers can become causes of stress. Another reason may be internal conflict when the kid blames himself for committing a misdemeanor.

How to help your child deal with stress

Let the emotions out

The child does not yet know how to control his emotions. Frank conversations with adults, keeping a diary, any hobby will help to solve the problem of negative accumulation.

Solve the problem together

Feel free to discuss his problems with the child, if necessary, seek help from psychologists or those people who are an authority for the baby.

Compensate for emotional stress

Moderate exercise is a good preventive measure emotional stress. A child can attend a sports section or a swimming pool, ride a bike, etc. All these activities contribute to the production of “happiness hormones” (endorphins) that help to cope with stress.

Follow the regime

Compliance with the daily routine helps to normalize the mood and behavior of the child. Nutrition should be balanced, exercise should be moderate, and sleep should be full. It is important to avoid situations when the child refuses to eat, sleep or rest, misses school.

Instill confidence in your child

A child needs support and faith in the future even more than an adult. Tell your child that difficult periods in life are always replaced by bright and joyful ones.

Help your child relax

deal with stressful situation the child can be helped by communication with friends, shopping, cartoons, computer games or a massage session. Invite your child to choose one of these activities and teach him to pay attention not only to negative, but also to positive points.

In some situations, the activities listed above may not be enough, since the child's body alone cannot cope with the consequences of nervous tension, emotional distress and overwork. In such cases, experts recommend taking medications from stress for children. Such funds are subject to increased requirements, in particular, they must have a high safety profile, not cause dependence and addiction.

  • a wide range of effects (the drug soothes, relieves external signs stress, improves memory and concentration);
  • not found side effects drug.

Tenoten Children's - peace and cheerfulness of your baby!

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