Building Resilience and Reducing Stress in Young Children
Resilient children have Healthy habits (they eat and sleep well, and exercise regularly), they know how to Play creatively and use their imagination, they have strong ties to Family and friends, and are capable of slowing down and being Mindful.
Tips for Parents:*
1. Establish Healthy Sleep Patterns
2. Preserve Family Meal Time
3. Have Outdoor Play Time Every Day
4. Leave Plenty of Time for Unstructured Play
(and Choose Organized Activities Wisely)
5. Play Board Games as a Family
6. Build in Alone Time (without Electronics)
7. Spend More Time in Nature
8. Encourage Reading and Listening to Books
*Drawn from Parenting Without Fear (St. Martin’s Press, 2007), by Paul J. Donahue, Ph.D.