Children may feel many fears and anxiety during the day and may experience stress due to this fear and anxiety. As a parent, when you realize this, you can apply some methods to calm your child.
“I am with you, you do not need to be afraid.”
Whatever reason your child is afraid or anxious. He wants to get to a safe harbor and relax. Physical contact and verbal communication are the most effective ways to calm his anxiety as soon as possible. Gently take your child in your arms and hug him/her and tell him that you are with him and that he does not need to be afraid anymore because he is safe with you. You can continue this until you see significant calmness in the child. Each child's needs and recovery time are different.
“Let's talk a little about what they are going through.”
Explaining the problem the child is experiencing will also help him/her relax. If you create an environment where you can be alone with your child and make him or her comfortable, he or she can open up to you about the issue he or she is having trouble with. Listen to your child as much as possible without commenting or interrupting. Let him explain it in as much detail as possible. However, remember that some children will not want to talk right away. Tell your child that he/she can come and talk to you whenever he/she wants, without forcing you.
“What would you like to say to your fear?”
You can play a game with your child to help him/her understand the emotion he/she feels. Have your child choose something from his or her room that he/she will call "horror" and put it in front of him, ask him what he wants to say and let him talk. This object of fear can then turn into an emotion that you can make your child talk about in all the negative emotions he feels, and you will offer your child a way to cope with his negative emotions.
“Can you draw your fear?”
Children feel more stress because they have difficulty making sense of the negative emotions they experience. Drawing will help your child recognize his/her feelings better and relax.
“Let's change the ending of this together.”
When you believe your child has calmed down enough. Act out the feared event together. Take your place in your child's shoes, reenact the same situation from the beginning, but at the end, you can do something joyful instead of being afraid. Here, you help the child get over the impact of the event he experienced. At the same time, the child sees that there are different options.
“If you feel something like this again, let's see what you can do.”
Children Their stress levels may increase even more because they do not know what to do when they feel a negative emotion. That's why offering a plan of what they can do when they feel negative emotions can comfort them.
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You can take a deep breath first.
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You can wash your face, Afterwards, you can turn on your favorite music
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You can talk to your mother, father, home caregivers or teacher
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You can hug your pillow
These examples can be varied according to your child's needs and the things he likes to do.
“What can I do for you”
You may not be able to predict your child's needs at any time. If you give him the opportunity to talk about what he needs, he will understand that the negative emotions he feels are accepted, he will feel relaxed, and at the same time, you will have the chance to understand what he really needs to calm down. The child whose needs are met will also calm down much more easily.
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