Parenting Your Stressed Child

Book excerpt: Kids may have fewer responsibilities than mom and dad, but childhood can still be one of the most stressful periods in life. The stresses of school, extracurricular activities, and even day-to-day family living can make kids feel overwhelmed and distracted. To make matters worse, children have very little control over the events in their lives, and haven't had as much practice managing stress as adults. In Parenting Your Stressed Child, you'll learn a variety of simple and effective mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) skills that you can teach your child to help him or her stay resilient and calm in the face of stress. This guide includes breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation practices, and visualization and loving-kindness meditations you and your child can do together to handle the ups and downs of everyday life. By modeling these skills and incorporating them into your own life, you can help your child learn the art of resilience, a skill that will stay with your child for a lifetime.