Self-care is getting discussed more often when it comes to dealing with our mental and psychological well-being. While self-care is crucial for adults who deal with stress and busy lives, it’s also just as important for children. Check out the different ways you can teach your kids to relax, unwind, and manage their emotions as needed.
Find Different Ways to Exercise
Exercise is just as important for children as it is for adults. According to experts, children need at least 60 minutes of movement per day, so encouraging exercise in all types of forms should be something taught to help kids relieve stress and to ensure a good night’s sleep.
Find out what types of activities your kids like to do. Maybe they enjoy running, biking, or different types of group activities, such as horseshoe or badminton. Consider offering a variety of different activities to your children, so they can find ones that they like, or join your local YMCA, so they can participate in sports with others their own age and have fun. This gives you a chance to work out and role model healthy behaviours as well.
Get Them Outside
The great outdoors has long been a favourite stress-reliever for many, young and old alike, according to Zenbusiness. Start by exploring any nearby parks or hiking trails out where you live. Your children might be surprised to learn what types of wildlife are in the area and discover how calming it is to take a walk in nature.
One fun activity they might enjoy is taking pictures of plants and animals they find along the way. Consider getting a kid-friendly smartwatch so they can take pictures of what they discover. The latest smartwatches on the market have parental controls that are easy-to-use and provide features such as GPS tracking and even medical ID in case an emergency happens when you aren’t around.
Spend Time Together as a Family
Families being together and doing fun activities is how memories are made and traditions are started, and this can be a wonderful gift to hand down to your children. Family time can involve talking about anything on your mind, or it can simply be a way for everyone to blow off steam and have fun together.
Ideas for family fun could be going hiking, fishing, going out on a boat, cooking dinner together, trying a new recipe, having a game night, or just about anything else you think everyone would enjoy doing together.
Role-Model Self-Care
Show your children what self-care looks like by trying to reduce stress for everyone practicing what you preach. For example, if you are a work-from-home parent, you can keep everyone’s stress level lower by having specific ground rules. Create a schedule everyone can understand and make use of your calendar so that you don’t forget important dates and appointments.
Encourage Your Children to Create
Creating art, music, or anything your child enjoys can be a helpful form of self-care. It allows them to express feelings without talking about them, and it can be a good way for them to connect with you if they choose to share their creations.
Consider keeping art supplies on hand like paint, markers, clay, or other things your child might use if they are into visual arts. Budding musicians could benefit from access to a keyboard or other type of instrument. Writers could try blogging.
Self-care can take on a variety of forms. Use these ideas to help your whole family learn to practice self-care.
This article was a guest post by Anya Willis
