Although many people are not aware, kids go through many anxious events during childhood. If not managed properly, it can negatively affect their ability to learn at school, do everyday tasks, or even sleep at night. Getting medical help is essential if you want your child to manage their anxiety better and have a good night’s sleep.
If your child is showing signs of depression, you should look for the best pediatrician in Miami and work on the issue. There are many fun activities for anxiety that kids can do to ease their stress in the meantime. Luckily, this article will show you and explain the best exercises for children with anxiety.
Keep in mind that teen depression shouldn’t be ignored, and if you notice that your child has problems, contact a medical specialist.
Mental Health Activities for Kids – Journaling Before Night-Time
Many parents struggle to put their children to sleep. One of the more common reasons for children not sleeping well is anxiety.
Journaling is an excellent way for children and adults to deal with their anxious thoughts. Getting kids to write their worries down by making them imagine these thoughts leaving their heads is perfect for visualization. Teens and anxiety aren’t a good mix, so if you know a teen struggling with anxiousness, suggest journaling as a possible way out.
Kids can even go one step further by writing their worries and then ripping them up to show it leaving their thoughts and being destroyed just like the paper. This has proven to be one of the more fun activities for anxiety.
If the kids are too young to write, drawing can be a great way to achieve the same results.
Activities for Kids With Anxiety – Try Painting!
If you’d like to support your child but don’t know any helpful activities for kids with anxiety, maybe you should give painting a chance. One of the best ways to reduce their anxious thoughts is by engaging in a creative task.
Painting is a great way to entertain your kid’s brain and keep things exciting with the number of different colors they can use. It also helps take the attention away from the thoughts that make them anxious as they concentrate on painting. Doing creative mental health activities for kids before going to bed is a great way to exercise the brain, making sleep much more effortless.
Fun Activities for Anxiety – Using Stress Balls
For years, stress balls have been a great way to deal with anxiety and stress. They are easy to make or buy and are a great way to make kids take their minds off things by focusing on the stress ball.
As well as being great for taking childrens’ minds off anxiety, it also activates the nerves, improving the nervous system and reducing negative feelings.
Squeezing a stress ball stimulates the nerves and activates the muscles, which in turn helps the nervous system. All this reduces the amount of cortisol in your body, which is the hormone that causes stress.
Various Sensory Activities
If you want to ocupate your kid’s brain with different thoughts, sensory activities are a great way to do so.
Get the kids to look around and see if they can identify five different things. The more senses they activate for this activity, the better it is for them. Once they have found one thing for each of the senses, get them to come back to you explaining what they felt, saw, heard, smelt, and tasted, and get them to do it again.
Not only will it take their mind off the anxiety, but it will also make them happier while improving their communication skills and helping them learn more about the five different senses.
Mental Health Activities for Kids – The Worry Room
Having a worry room or worry area is excellent for giving the kids a safe space to be in when they feel anxious. A good suggestion would be to use the kids’ bedroom.
Add decorations to it and keep their favorite things in the area. This safe space will calm them whenever they’re in it.
Activities for Children With Anxiety – Puzzles
Puzzles are one of the best ways to get the brain working and are perfect for those looking to find out how to get rid of anxiety. Get your child to have a go at a puzzle, no matter if it is an easy one or a hard one. They will relish the challenge and feel happy when they have completed it.
Different Board Games
If you are trying to get your kid to feel like a part of a group, participating in board games with them before bedtime is a reliable way to do this. Board games are a great way to get their mind working and stop them from thinking about their anxious thoughts before going to sleep.
What’s more, board games, especially those you do as a team, help build more togetherness and close bonds, all of which are vital for a child’s development.
Activities for Kids With Anxiety: Have an Anxiety Friend
Due to anxiety, many kids refuse to sleep in their beds by themselves. It can be hard to do so when you keep having nervous feelings. However, one of the best ways to overcome this fear is having an “anxiety friend.”
An anxiety friend is a toy or pet that a child can pet, play with and talk to when they want to share their anxious emotions. All this can help put their minds at ease, knowing they will have something to talk to and calm them down when facing anxiety attacks or scary thoughts.
A Mantra Bracelet
Helping children keep sight of what’s essential when experiencing anxiety can be done in many different ways. One of which is using a mantra bracelet with a positive message. Even simple sayings can help children understand that these feelings are temporary and that they will get through them.
Some good ones are the following:
- I’m good enough no matter what
- I’m safe here
- Focus on breathing before all else
Activities for Children With Anxiety – Playing With Slime
Slime is an excellent option if you’re looking for a gift that’s helpful to a child with anxiety without breaking the bank. It can be a fantastic distraction when experiencing stress, especially in the child’s younger years. Lavender oil can also be a part of the slime to boost its calming abilities.
Get the Best Pediatric Care For Your Child
It can be challenging to know how to help your child when they’re suffering from anxiety. Everything from keeping your toddler in bed to trying to calm them down can be stressful.
At Ana HPMD, we can help. Based in Miami, Florida, our resident doctor, Dr. Ana Hernandez Puga, has years of experience working with children helping them ease the problems that they may face with anxiety. Book an appointment with us today.
