Stress Relief Techniques For A Preschool Child

By Author: Nalanda Learning
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Stress management techniques with preschool educational resources for a preschool child must be tailored to the underlying cause of stress: the child's need for control.

Establish Boundaries
The establishment of boundaries is essential for stress relief in preschool. To keep a child physically safe, we must establish physical boundaries. To provide safety for the child, we must also establish emotional, mental, and spiritual boundaries. Children will experience stress in seeking boundaries as long as they do not exist or can be knocked down. Here are a few examples of stress relief in preschool.

1. The physical boundary for reading time is the reading circle, reading rug, or whatever part of the room you designate. The child is only to be found there. Isn't this causing preschool stress? No. It is an effective preschool stress reliever. Control is established for children when they understand that only one location is acceptable. They are not required to seek control by responding in an inappropriate manner. They can unwind.
Preschool stress reduction necessitates teaching children these boundaries ...
... and assisting them in understanding that they will be happy and safe within them. They never have to push the envelope. We assist in stress reduction.

2. When an adult commands or requests something, the mental and emotional boundary is immediate and complete compliance. Adults set the boundary only once, without counting. The longer children wait to obey, the longer they are outside the boundary, which is an unhappy place to be.
If we want to provide preschool stress relief for children, we must ensure that they understand that remaining outside of that boundary is unacceptable. We will not tolerate their disobedience. We place a premium on obedience. We reward it and eliminate the need for decision-making.

3. Preschool stress relief techniques establish control for the child when it comes to expectations that children will get along with one another. This expectation is neither unreasonable nor burdensome. Preschool stress relief in this area consists of instructing and demonstrating that good things come from efforts to get along. We add to the stress by separating children who refuse to cooperate with one another, making it difficult for them to know what to do. Our voices tell them they need to get along, but separation rewards them for not doing so.

Give Responsibility
Preschool stress relief teaches kids to take responsibility for their actions. It does not place the child's refusal to respect boundaries on circumstances beyond his or her control. Life will always present them with circumstances over which they have no control. Preschool stress relief teaches children early on that appropriate stress responses are based on boundaries, and that it is their responsibility to stay within those boundaries.

Stressful Crayons
Giving children a coloring page and crayons is a good object lesson in preschool stress relief. Discuss how unhappy the crayons will be if they color outside the lines. Tell them that the lines are there to help the crayons. It would be much more difficult if they had to color a parrot (or whatever the picture was) without any lines to guide them. It would make the crayons nervous. They had no idea if they were doing it correctly. The lines make the crayons feel happy and at ease.
Explain to the children that they are coloring with crayons. They require lines visual aids for preschool classroom. They require boundaries. They will be much happier if they stay within the boundaries of life.

Conclusion
Preschool stress relief is not difficult. This should not be the case. Teachers and parents who concentrate on natural, common sense boundaries will achieve a high level of preschool stress relief without difficulty.

Know more about Nalanda Learning Systems, please visit www.nalandalearning.org.

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