We have some big news to share with you!! Children, even very young ones, are people, too. They get stressed if they are given too many responsibilites of jobs, just like you and me. They resort to eating junk food from the stress of having to be a busy little beaver, every day. Just like you and me.
So what to do? If your child shows signs of wear and tear from a busy schedule, cut back on their jobs.
"Children need to be given time for their work, and play is their work," says Laura Markham, PhD, a child psychologist and author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting, and reported by WebMd.
So give your child the free time to build that block tower, play pretend, and run around. They are not going to fall behind other children because they're not involved in as many structured activities. Downtime helps kids relax and recharge, both of which are important parts of staying healthy, Dr. Markham found in her research, and reported in the WebMD article.
If your child seems to be taking on too much -- they're irritable, show anxious or stressed body language, want to be left alone more than normal, complain about no control -- Markham offers some ways to slow down the pace.
TheWebMd article suggests the following:
Choose one activity per child at a time. Maybe Julia gets soccer in the fall and ice skating in the winter, while Joshua gets lacrosse in the fall and French classes in the winter. Explain to your child that sometimes when people feel sad or mad because they're doing too much, they can eat unhealthy foods or just want to watch TV. That's why it's good to take time out to relax and just have fun. That way you won't be stressed and make unhealthy choices.
Help kids find relaxing ways to spend free time. Summer is about downtime, but you don't have to wait until then to let your kids relax with unstructured time. It's a great stress-buster.
