By Cherelle Danker
While some children may be more resilient than others, negative experiences will always impact a child’s confidence and self esteem. It’s only natural for parents to want to protect their child but it’s impossible to ensure children are shielded from negative experiences at all times. The only assurance parents have is to equip their children with the knowledge that would teach them resilience.
1 – Mindful Breathing (Pranayama)
Research shows that mindful breathing – being aware of one’s breathing and learning how to manipulate it, is one of the most effective ways to lower everyday stress levels, improving a number of health factors, especially how someone feels. When people in general, and even children get panicky and anxious, their breath becomes shallow and rapid. By teaching children how to actively change their breath rate, they have the ability change their mood state.
2 – Guided meditation
Guided meditation is when a person meditates by listening to a meditation instructor who guides the subject into a very focused state. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children (mindfulness practice like breathing and meditation) has also been shown to help improve attention and behaviour problems, help kids with anxiety reduce their anxiety levels and had significant success with better focus in the classroom and behaviours at home.
3 – Hypnotherapy
Using indirect and direct suggestions within a strategic narrative, Hypnotherapists can bypass the subjects critical mind and gain access to the unconscious mind when in a relaxed state. Therapists can then at this stage, use suggestions that will cause the subject to influence his or her core negative beliefs and modify his or her behaviour in a favourable way. HSC students have had success relieving stress and gaining better focus for exams with hypnotherapy sessions. Similar to guided meditation, Hypnotherapy has had significant success with children with anxiety helping with better focus in the classroom and behaviours at home.
