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Mental Wellness Wednesday: How to help manage your child’s stress

Dr. Tracy Alloway joins us for Mental Wellness Wednesday! Today we talked about how to manage your child’s stress levels.

1) Sweet spot of stress

Multiple brain imaging studies show that chronic stress affects brain development, especially the development of the prefrontal cortex, which is linked goal directed behavior and self-regulation.

Take Away: Be aware of early signs of stress in your child. Look for physical signs – headaches, stomach aches, etc as indicators that your child may be experiencing stress

2) Praise matters

Praise effort (You worked really hard!) not the Person (You were awesome!). Why?

Researchers found that over time (8 years), Effort Praise results in children who are more willing to tackle difficult tasks. In contrast, Person Praise is connected to self-image and self-esteem

Take Away: Be intentional of the feedback you give your child, especially for girls, as research shows that girls tend to receive more Person praise.

3) Make time for free play

Studies show that when children engage in unstructured free play, where they are self-directed - we see the most benefit in the classroom.

They are more skilled at setting their own goals and finding ways to solve their problems.

4) Wear the lucky sock

If you child has a superstitious belief, let them have it!

Previous research has shown that athletic routines (such as bouncing a basketball three times before a free throw) can boost performance.

Why? Researchers think that it increases the person’s beliefs in their own abilities and skills.


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