Stress is a normal part of life. How we choose to deal with it, however, is an entirely different subject. As a parent or grandparent, it’s important to know how to help children deal with stress effectively to avoid child behavior problems.

Today it’s unusual to see a child simply relaxing. There are expectations from family, teachers, and friends, as well as technology and activities to keep them busy. Some studies suggest a third of all children suffer from undue stress. In fact, young children are beginning to show signs of chronic stress in ever-increasing numbers, enough to concern health professionals.

Listen to the child in your life and learn to recognize the symptoms of being overly stressed. They may act out, whine incessantly, or try to isolate themselves if they’re not verbal yet. Older children may show a lack of patience, become stubborn, or have trouble concentrating. They may also express physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach-aches, or lack of energy. Pay attention to the symptoms and try to determine if they’re caused by stress or if they’re simply misbehaving.

Teach your child to recognize the difference between being relaxed and being stressed. Explain how stress might make them feel tense or stiff like a piece of wood. Help them learn to relax by tensing their muscles and the letting the tension go. When they can tense and release their muscles at will, they’ll be able to learn to relax more efficiently.

Be available for them. Perhaps part of your child’s stress is caused by everyone in the family being too busy. Your child needs to know they can find you if they need you. You might want to reduce the number of activities your family is involved in so you’re more available for them. Take time to spend alone with them if you notice them starting to become apprehensive.

Try to be patient with them. The old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” can be applied to your child learning to deal with stress as well. Learning to deal with stress takes time and your child needs you to be patient with them while they learn.

Have some fun with your child. There is little that can beat laughter for reducing stress in children and in adults. Play games with them, watch silly movies, or just enjoy listening to their goofy jokes. You’ll both feel better and less stressed.

It’s important to remember that stress is common to nearly everyone. And while adults have years of experience dealing with stress, that’s not so for the children in their lives. Your child depends on you to help them learn how to deal with stress. This can begin at an early age and continue until they are in their teens. By the time they’re adults and able to better understand stress, they’ll have mastered dealing with it effectively.

Life can be stressful, there’s no doubt about it. You may be wondering how to turn down the pressure and learn to de-stress. Why not try one or more of these ten tips to de-stress and watch your pressure level drop for more time for child care and family bonding.

Full-body breathing

Deep breathing, or full-body breathing, is considered to be one of the best ways to lower stress. Breathing deeply sends oxygen throughout your body and encourages the brain to calm which allows the body to relax. This is a great way to de-stress that won’t cost more than a little bit of time and effort on your part to master.

Stop your temper from flaring up

Failure to control anger can be detrimental to emotional and physical health. In fact, anger can result in additional stress you may not want, whilst controlling your anger can help you de-stress and relax. Learning to not take things personally can help anyone control their anger which will result in their being less stressed.

Head massage

If you’re stressed you may end up with a pounding headache. Although many people instinctively rub their temples to reduce tension and eyestrain, learning more about head massage or finding someone trained to give them may be one way to turn down pressure in your life.

Think positive

You may have been instructed to “think positive” on occasion. Positive thoughts and self-talk can actually reduce stress by focusing on good things rather than bad. Some researchers claim optimists will live longer, have better health, and have less stress. Try it today and see if it’s true for you.

Get some exercise

Exercise is a tried and true method to reduce stress. Not only is exercise good for you physically, it also releases endorphins which will improve your mood and outlook. Exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to do your body good - a daily walk outside can do wonders to relieve stress and help you feel better.

Find something to laugh about

It’s been said that laughter is the best medicine, and it seems science has proven this fact. Laughter reduces stress and exercises the internal organs. The effects of laughter can also remain after you’ve stopped laughing. Find a silly movie and laugh away; it does your body good.

Keep a journal

Writing out things that frustrate you helps reduce stress as well as give you clarity of thought. If you’re able to see a situation clearly, you’ll feel less stressed about it. Grab a pen, some paper, or your computer, and feel the stress ease away.

Meditate

Meditation has long been used to combat stress. It also helps with physical pain and enables you to feel more peaceful. Spending fifteen minutes in meditation can calm the mind and help you re-focus when you have to return to your normal day.

Take a bubble bath

Women have this relaxation technique mastered, but the benefit of bubble baths isn’t only for women. If you’re overtired and stressed, time in bubbles can do wonders to restore peace to your mind and reduce the effects of stress on your body.

Get plenty of rest

If you’re not sleeping well, it’s not unusual to feel stressed. Lack of sleep can also lead to a short temper, lack of concentration, and physical tiredness. Sleeping will help reduce stress, and re-charge your mind and body for what the day holds in store.

Life can be stressful, but there’s no reason you can’t use these ten tips to turn down the pressure. You can use them individually or in combination for added stress-reducing benefits.

The truth is, children should not be feeling any stress this early on. That is what childhood is for because people can get all the stress they want when they grow up. However, it happens. Children experience stress and it is up to the parents to do something about this child behavior problem.

Undue stress usually come in the form of school pressure. Other forms are when some children isolate themselves from other children or if they grow impatient and lack the will to focus.

Physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach problems are also common. Usually when a child suffers low energy, that’s a very huge indicator.

It could also happen when your child is in the midst of preparations for a play or a performance. Children can just hang up like a piece of wood when tensed.

So what can parents and other loved ones do? Since we can’t solve everything for them, the best we can do is to just be there to support them. Always be there to be relied on when your child experiences difficulties. Mark a special time with your child where you can just spend some quality time.

Also remember to be very patient. You can’t order them to stop being stressed. It’s a process and the important thing is for you to just be around. Here is a helpful video of how you can further relieve the stress of your children:

School bells will be ringing again soon, and with a new school year comes homework. Your child may need your help learning how to make homework less stressful. Using the following these ideas may provide your child with the help they need for homework problems.

If your child is like many, they may procrastinate when it comes to homework. Of course, this adds to the stress they feel. Creating a schedule for time at home will enable them accomplish everything they have to do. A good schedule would include:

* Wind-down time and snack
* Homework
* Chores
* Dinner
* Time with family

To make the transition from school to home easier, give them a half hour to ride their bike, watch one television program, or do a craft. A nutritious snack is also a good idea when children return home, particularly if lunch was earlier in the day. A piece of fruit, yogurt, or a cheese sandwich will give them much-needed energy and allow them to concentrate better on the task at hand.

Set aside a specific place for your child to do homework. You’ll want to have a basket or box which contains supplies they’ll need including pencils, paper, calculator, eraser, and markers. If you they need your help managing their time, you may want them to do homework at the kitchen table.

Break down assignments into smaller portions of time and be available if they need your help. You can be available without sitting by them and doing their homework for them. Knowing you’re available to help should they run into problems can be comforting. You may choose to read, pay bills, or do another activity at the table with them.

Limit the number of outside activities your child has to avoid burnout. If they’re spending all their evening hours practising sports, with scouting, or in band they won’t have time for homework. You may want to institute an “academics first” rule if they are involved in too much.

What do you do if you think the teacher is assigning too much homework? Make an appointment to speak with them, without the children being present, and discuss any problems your child may have. Speaking to the teacher in front of the child could lead them to question the teacher’s authority from then on. You may also want to ask the teacher what you can do to help your child learn.

Use breaks between assignments for young children, and at least every hour for older students. The break doesn’t have to be a long time, but enough to allow them to get a drink or get up and walk around.

Homework and stress seem to go hand-in-hand. You can do much to teach them how to make homework less stressful by following these useful ideas. You may also empathize; it may not have been so long ago you were doing homework yourself.

Homework is one of those things which children are not easily attached to during child education. It steals time away from playtime and can be very difficult to do even with the supervision of an adult. Now, if you find your child to be dragging along with this activity,then it would be best to step in and properly motivate your child by removing stress in the equation.

Talk to them in a casual manner about the way they feel with their homework? Does it make him/her feel unnecessary pressure. Does he/she feel not smart enough to perform such activity? Give your child room to express his side. Although you may not agree, at least he/she feels there is a chance for him to speak.

Make them sway away from negativity and focus on the fact that they can look forward to their leisure time if they finish their homework properly and efficiently. A negative attitude will only ensure that your child is more stressed than he/she really needs to be.

More importantly, be there right beside your child during these difficult times in order to make your child feel that he/she is not alone with this activity.