![]() Minutes of play every evening helped you become a happier parent? Can you think of a better way to spend five minutes? I promised that if you do this on a regular basis, your child will become more cooperative, and you will feel more energized? What if five You might even have an idea that you hate playing with your child.īut what if I gave you permission to set a timer and forget about your To-Do list and just connect with your child for five minutes? What if I realize that at the end of the day you're probably exhausted. To transform any struggle with your child. Rivalry to feeling needy or powerless or unloved, you can often help your child work through that issue using play. If your child is struggling with a specific issue, from separation anxiety to sibling Lesson by playing, your child really gets it.īest of all, playing helps parents and kids feel closer. Playing is also how kids learn, so when you "teach" an emotional Same pent-up stress hormones that they'd otherwise have to tantrum to discharge. They have so much more energy than we do, so they wear us out.īut we can use this to our advantage, because when we play physical games with children, they giggle and sweat and scream - and they release the When they get wound up emotionally, their bodies need to discharge all that energy. Play releases tension and helps children work through the big emotions that arise as they tackle All mammals play it's their way of learning skills they'll need when they're full-grown, fromįinding food to getting along with others. And laughter transforms our body chemistry by reducing stress hormones and increasing bonding hormones. Play is one of the main ways small humans Luckily, nature has designed children with a release valve: Play, especially play that triggers laughter. That means that more tension builds up looking for release, and more stress hormones circulate in the bloodstream, making theĬhild cranky, rigid, reactive. If the child doesn't have a chance to work through these emotions as they arise, they get stuffed into the emotional backpack, otherwise knownĪs the body. More fear, more frustration, more getting snapped at by your weary parents. Normal challenges of every day life for a growing child of any age stimulate all kinds of feelings. Disappointment (Doesn't anyone care what I want?!).Panic (What if they don't make it to the bathroom on time? or for older kids, What if they have a pop quiz when they've been spending their.Humiliation (The teacher acted like he should already know that, and all the kids on zoom laughed!).Jealousy (Maybe you do love their sibling more!).Anger (But it was my turn! That's not fair!).Fear (What if there IS something under the bed?).Here's why.Īll day, every day, children have to manage an avalanche of complicated feelings: Playing with your child for five minutes today, in a way that gets them laughing, is probably the best way you can spend five minutes with yourĬhild.
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