Like every new school year, many families, including children and parents, experience stress. For example, transitioning from summer break where there tends to be more flexibility in daily routines to school where a more formal, structured schedule is enforced, families may experience stress for multiple reasons, including decrease in quality family time, homework deadlines, or attempting to find a means of transportation.
Stress comes from a variety of areas and although stress levels vary, it is important to take time to check in with yourself and your children. Try to identify what exactly is contributing to the stress you and your family are experiencing and list it from the most to the least stressful. By doing this, you will become aware of where most of the stress is coming from. Once you know this information, you and your family can create a plan to help reduce stress in specific areas. For example, if you feel like most of your family’s stress is from lack of quality family time, then you could schedule a family meeting and discuss a plan to spend more time together, such as going for a walk at a nearby park after school, having dinner together every evening, or designating every Saturday evening, from 4PM to 7PM, to do something fun together. When planning, remember to be specific and make it achievable for you and your family.
Here are some examples of how to check in and help your children during stressful times. Be patient with your children, ask them how they are doing and give them time to respond, observe their behaviors and try and determine what their behaviors mean, talk to them as much as possible because the more conversations you have, the more you will learn about them, reflect on your responses to their needs and wants, especially if they have not yet developed language, and last but certainly not least, pay attention to how you manage and cope with stress, for example, do you shut down or become angry, because your children are also watching you and they will begin to mimic similar behaviors.
Strong families are essential to building stronger communities.
Sincerely,
Jessica E., EHS’s Behavioral and Mental Health Case Manager