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"It isn't life's events, but one's reaction to them, that activates the symptoms of stress."
~ David Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D
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"Healing the New Childhood Epidemics" Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies
by Kenneth Bock, M.D. and Cameron Stauth
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Relaxation Techniques For Kids
As our children begin a new season and a subsequent change in schedules, it is a great time for kids to learn and use relaxation techniques to help with the restlessness and anxiety some of them feel as a result of anticipation and uncertainty that comes with new beginnings. By learning and using relaxation exercises, we empower our children with tools they can use again and again as they deal with unfamiliarity, performance anxiety, and even boredom. Anxiety, restlessness, hyperactivity can be exhibited in many situations: those we expect, those we don't. The sooner we choose to teach our kids to embrace this aspect of themselves and explain that we all feel anxiety at one time or another, the sooner they are able to feel better about themselves. They know they have the tools to navigate through discomfort.
One example I like to teach restless kids for use in the classroom is the "squeeze and release" method. For my clients who feel they are going to explode when they are forced to sit in a chair and they don't want to be learning in that particular moment, I show them how to make fists under their desk and to squeeze and hold them tight, visualizing all of the busy energy they feel going into their fists. I then have them hold this tension in their hands to a count of three, as they work to identify what they are feeling. For example, "I am angry," or "I am embarrassed," "I am frustrated," or "I am bored." It could be as simple as that, but for these kids those feelings escalate and turn into restless behavior that is difficult to control. By identifying the emotions they feel, they are naming it in order to claim it. Lastly, after they have identified the emotion, they are to imagine the negative energy leaving their bodies as they release their fists. By doing this exercise, they learn that they are in control of what they are feeling and that they can then let it go. They also are more apt to accept that they may feel this way repeatedly, but that it passes, and that they are in charge of their bodies. For some kids who are labeled ADHD, or ADD, oftentimes they are unable to focus on material presented to them because their thoughts are on subjects they would rather be engaged in. This particular tool often helps these highly creative and intelligent children to accept themselves for who they are and where they are at in the moment. By squeezing their fists under their desk, no one even has to know what they are doing!
This is one example of how we can help our kids to accept and embrace their feelings and more importantly, to release them so that energy doesn't stay in side of them, running haywire, unable to be expressed. Relaxation techniques are tools that kids can put in their tool bags to help them to solve problems in the moment and to feel in control of their restlessness, discomfort or general anxiety.
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Thank you for reading.
Happy September!
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Raising Healthy Kids Radio program is brought to you by Healthy Living
Magazine's Editor Candita Mamet.
The premier parenting radio show offering advice & information about raising children in as healthy a way as possible. Parents can tune in to discover the benefits of a healthy approach to diet, fitness, personal care products, behavior, learning, and medical treatment for their children. Raising Healthy Kids will focus on the mind, body and spirit of their child, recognizing that each area of development is intertwined with the others.
The show will air prime time on Saturday mornings from 10:30 -11:00 on WATD 95.9 FM
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Barbara Coffey of the Natural Health Group is a Certified Classical Homeopath located at HealthTrax at 20 East Street in Hanover. I have used Barbara since my children were infants and have forwarded many of my clients to her for her alternative forms of healing for families.
To contact Barbara please call her office at (781) 829-8900 | |
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