Relaxation and Play
Relaxation and play - Life Skills eBook
Are you worried that your child is under too much pressure and is not managing the stress? You can support your child by help learning them to relax and take time out. Perhaps you are feeling the pressure of a busy life yourself and need to slow down. Making time to relax and have fun is so important to good health and stops you and your children from getting tired, run down and too stressed out. If you need some ideas on how to manage stress, relax and take some time out to play then you’ll find the Relaxation and Play Life Skills Home Activity eBook a great resource.
Importance of the Relaxation and Play life skills for kids
Do you regularly take time out to relax and play with your children? This is very important as many parents are rushed, overworked and lack work-life balance. This is also true for children as they are often overwhelmed with many demands including school projects, homework, sports, family commitments, after-school tutoring and social networking and the list goes on. Did you know that regular stress can affect a child’s immune system making them more prone to illness? Being tired and stressed for long periods can also produce negative effects, such as anxiety and depression. Being able to relax and to play reduces stress, anxiety, illness and increases pleasure and joy in life.
The activities in the Relaxation and Play Home Activity eBook are focused on helping your child understand the importance of making time to relax and have fun. These will help your child feel a greater sense of wellbeing and help them to achieve life-balance. You can help your child learn to identify when they are tired, or overworked and need to stop and rest. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and stretching exercises are provided. You can make this a weekly activity for you and your children, and in this way you will all reap the benefits. Most importantly, you will be experiencing and modelling a good work-life balance for your children and giving them a skill for life.
Benefits of the Relaxation and Play life skills for kids
Research shows that almost all diseases are the result of stress. Developing good work–life balance should begin as young as possible. Maggie Dent’s Chapter “Helping Children Manage Stress”, in the book Inspired Children: how the leading minds of today raise their kids explains that many adults can’t manage their stress because they didn’t learn how to deal with stress and distress as children. So it’s very important to learn this skill as a child.
One of the many benefits of teaching children how to manage stress, take time out to relax and play is that it will support them to live a healthy life. Another benefit of the Relaxation and Play life skill activities is that they can reduce anxiety. Increasing numbers of children are feeling anxiety and are not coping with the demands of life. The good news is that a recent study which reviewed over ten years of research on the impact of relaxation training on anxiety found that anxiety can be decreased by using a variety of relaxation techniques.
Here are 12 activities to help your child to develop life skills around Relaxation and Play:
LIFE SKILL 1: Enjoying a game with your child
LIFE SKILL 2: Giving and receiving a massage
LIFE SKILL 3: Playing cards
LIFE SKILL 4: Listening to music for relaxation
LIFE SKILL 5: Reading for pleasure and relaxation
LIFE SKILL 6: Knowing when to stop because you’re tired or stressed
LIFE SKILL 7: Valuing your child's play
LIFE SKILL 8: Soaking in a footbath for two
LIFE SKILL 9: Relaxation exercise: tensing and releasing muscles
LIFE SKILL 10: Playing or being in nature
LIFE SKILL 11: Deep breathing exercise for stress management and relaxation
LIFE SKILL 12: Drawing for relaxation
Remember each activity only takes around 15 minutes to complete and you can complete them at your own pace at a time that suits you and your family’s lifestyle... Most importantly, imagine how good you’ll feel about the huge difference you’re making as a parent to your child’s ability to manage stress, relax and achieve healthy work-life balance.