Home
>
Parenting
>
Stress is No Kiddy Matter

Stress is No Kiddy Matter

Kids today no longer live the kind of privileged lives that we used to live as kids. This, I am absolutely sure of?.if there's nothing else in this world that I am confident about. Kids live such stressed lifestyles now that I feel that it's not even worth being a kid anymore and in fact, I'd rather be an adult, if I had a choice. Kids between the ages babies to 4 years old and during the preadolescent ages are the most susceptible to stress and stressful situations.

First off, let's examine the kind of life that the stressed kids live each day, I believe, in most of our societies.

There's school, there's tuition (Math, English, Art, Science?etc), and then there's tuition (swimming, drama, mandarin, French, Japanese, Spanish, dance, tennis), and then there's also homework (which most working adults no longer have)??and some parents even give their kids more homework at home at their own accord, as if the homework given by schoolteachers are not enough. Blagh!

Looking at the kind of schedule that kids have these days, it's not hard to imagine why they're so stressed out! Wouldn't you be too, if you were a kid? The moment the kid sits down to watch TV or to play a simple game on Playstation, the parents starts shooting off about how they are wasting their time and not doing or learning anything worthwhile. In the meantime, mom still gets to go for her facials and dad still continues to channel-surf on the TV, apparently oblivious to the things happening in his home.

Yes, we are living in a very competitive world. Yes, we want the best for our kids. Yes, we want them to be the best that they can be. And yes, every experience should be a learning experience. But what about being a kid? Isn't being a kid part of the 'experience' of living as well? Don't stress your kid out like that! They need some personal space and time to de-stress themselves or?spend some time being what they are?.kids.

When in stressful situations, kids have the fight or flight feeling Remember the time when you were asked to carry out the presentation when your colleague suddenly called in sick in the office? Remember the first time you performed on stage, storytelling, singing or choir performance? Remember them? Didn't you feel like you wanted to bolt from the situation because as a kid, you were feeling stressed out?

That's the kind of feeling that your kid is feeling when you put him or her under too much pressure. Let's face it, they don't have to be perfect ? and like you, they have the right to be who they are as naturally as possible. And you're the only one who can help them do that.

Identify their natural talent; uncover and nurture it Instead of forcing them to take tuition after tuition, lesson after lesson and do things that they don't like doing at all, why not spend some time with each of our kids each day, talking with them and discovering their inner self. When we sit down with our kids, we will discover what they like to do and we can uncover some hidden talents. For instance, I talk with my kids before bedtime and we spend about a good 10 minutes just yakking and talking about the day's events.

One night, my elder son, Joshua told me that he liked to draw. I said, "Yeah, it's kind of fun to use all those colors and mix them up together and see what we can come up with, isn't it?" to which Joshua replies, "But mom, I don't like to use colors. I don't like to PAINT, I like to DRAW".

I didn't think there was much difference until his art teacher told me that Joshua prefers to draw cartoon figures and sketches. He doesn't quite like to spend his time coloring any of his paintings, although he does it.

Just from the boding process itself, I discovered Joshua had this natural aptitude for sketching and drawing. And I swear I'll do anything to help him shine in that area, as long as he remains focused. I won't put pressure on him to excel, and if he thinks he wants to take this a step further later on his life, he has my blessings.

Give them due credit and listen to their problems and concerns We know all this already, don't we? It's pure simple logic! But yet, we tend to listen more to adults than our own kids because we naturally and sometimes subconsciously think and believe that we know better and we're in a better position to make the decisions for them. When kids confide in you and tell you about their concerns, take the matter seriously. It may seem trivial to us but it's very important to them. So, take their concerns to heart. Listen hard and listen well and don't interrupt when they are on the roll. Sometimes, your kids may just want you to listen to them talk and voice their opinions out, instead of looking for advice or helping them solve their problems. When you listen to your kids talk and take their concerns seriously, you're actually helping them de-stress themselves.

Helping our kids plan and expect stress When you know your kid is going to be in a stressful situation, teach them how to anticipate it, plan for it, get ready for it, face it and then learn something from it. Stress is not always a bad thing, even for a kid but like they say, too much of anything is not a good thing. So, help your kids handle stress better and stop giving them more stress?.like they don't already have enough stress in their lives already!

Marsha Maung is a freelance graphic designer and copy writer who works rom her home in Selangor, Malaysia. She loves nothing than blowing bubbles in the park with her 2 kids, Joshua and Jared and considers getting her hair yanked while playing horsey an absolute privilege. She is the author of "Raising little magicians", and the popular "The Lance in freelancing". More information can be found at http://www.marshamaung.com

no-contract cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

Stress is No Kiddy Matter

Parenting