by: Genevieve M. Lowry
Family stress management is a crucial part of managing your overall well-being.
Whether stress comes from balancing jobs, family, and home life, no matter how
hard we try it looms there, working its way into family life. Children today are
experiencing more stress related to school, peer pressure, and media events than
ever before. Parents may be feeling the squeeze from loss of jobs, increase
costs of livings and worrying about their financial future. How can families
manage their stress without letting it get the best of them and wearing them
down keeping families from enjoying one another?
Choose a Family Theme Song or Mantra
Belt out "All you need is Love" or "We Go Together" when stress starts mounting
or times get overwhelming. By busting into song or reciting the family mantra
helps to remind each other of who they can rely on. Make a big poster of your
family mantra and post it on the fridge to stay connected when times get tough.
Sometimes parents and children forget they are not alone and that each one of
you has each other to turn to for help, advice, or a singing partner.
Take a Walk Together or Kick the Ball Around the Yard
Going outside even for a few minutes; the cool air, open space, and natural
setting will automatically transform any negative feelings ridding the body of
tension. The benefits of physical exercise, increasing the heart rate even for a
few minutes expels energy, increases blood flow, relaxes muscles, and helps the
body to oxygenate blood more efficiently, all are key parts of family stress
management. Children are also much more likely to open up and talk with their
parents when engaged in activity creating stronger bonds and strengthening the
family.
Laugh out loud
When stress starts to build because the kids are fighting, dinners burning, and
no one is paying attention to your repeated requests to set the table, laughter
is the number one stress reliever. Studies have shown that even fake laughing
causes endorphins the "feel good hormone" to release. Laughter often brings a
sense of levity to any situation; once you see the funny it's hard to be upset.
Start laughing as a family or pass the laugh around the table encouraging
everyone to participate in your families mini stress buster.
Whether Families are struggling to make ends meet, or it's another hectic day
full of activities. family stress management is an important part of keeping
everyone as happy as possible. Family stress can be a drain on the fabric of
everyday life and begin to erode the bonds between family members. With just a
few simple strategies your family can be empowered to take on the challenges of
a busy daily life learn to refocus and refuel in order to work together as a
family.
See Also:
One of the best resources to learn more about stress management is Holisticonline.com Stress Management Infocenter.
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About the Author:
Genevieve M. Lowry has been helping children and families for twenty years. As a certified child life specialist at The Children's Hospital of NY, she worked on a general medical floor providing therapeutic activities for children facing chronic or life threatening illness. She also helped children and families cope with the rigors of a cancer diagnosis in an outpatient oncology clinic. For more details: http://guidedimageryforchildren.com/
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