Simple & Effective Coping for Children & Adolescents
Help children and teens navigate school breaks and summer transitions with simple coping strategies, including grounding exercises and breathing techniques that support emotional regulation and mindfulness.
Tis the season of school being on spring break and the kids are getting antsy for summer to come quickly. Although the breaks can be wonderful to have more time with our children and families, they can often come with some additional challenges. Children may be missing their friends and the structure of the school day and can struggle with this transition. Additionally, you may notice that for some children these breaks and summer can be more difficult if they don’t have access to their community and support systems. You may be wondering- how can I help my child with these transitions?
I am hopeful this blog post will give you some ideas of how to best support your children while they transition from school to spring break and eventually, summer break. Furthermore, I will be sharing with you a couple of my favorite coping and emotional regulation skills that you can use at home with your children and families. The first skill that can be helpful is grounding exercises to help regulate our nervous system, so we can think rationally and logically. There are a couple of ways to go about this, but my favorite form of grounding is utilizing one’s five senses (sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste). One way you can tap into your senses is to take a moment and close your eyes if you are in a safe and comfortable space to do so. Then, focus on the different senses you are noticing around you. Are there any smells that stick out to you? What do you hear in the background? Anything that you are tasting in your mouth? What do you notice about the place you are sitting or standing in? Incorporate this exercise with deep breaths to further help regulate your nervous system and bring fresh air into your lungs. After, reflect on how you feel. What came up for you? What did you notice? This can be a simple but effective exercise that can be utilized virtually anywhere. I am hopeful that this can be a strategy that your children or family can use when needing some time to self-regulate.
Another coping strategy that is also simple, but yet very effective is the “physiological sigh.” This is a mindfulness skill that also helps reset your nervous system to bring awareness back to the present moment. One important thing to note with mindfulness is to not fall into the “self-judgment” trap of “feeling like we are doing mindfulness wrong.” Often, children and teens will say that mindfulness is not helpful because it feels uncomfortable, or it is hard to focus. That is okay. If our mind wanders, bring it back to the present and give yourself grace. I find that practicing mindfulness is easier when we start with a small exercise that does not feel as overwhelming. For the physiological sigh breathing exercise, take a deep inhale to the top of your breath. Once you reach the top of your breath, inhale a little bit more and then fully exhale your breath out. One thing you will always have is your breath. Give this a try a couple of times and see how it goes. I have found that more children and teens are receptive to this breathing exercise because of how simple and effective it is. As you look forward to the upcoming breaks and more time with your families, I am hopeful these tools will help you so you can have the most meaningful time together.
