by Indrani Basu

Created on: September 02, 2009   Last Updated: September 04, 2009

There are things you cannot really teach in the literal sense of teaching. Kids are stressful sometimes, teaching is stressful many a times and I do not have to say much about how stressful stress is. And when all these are combined, and you have the responsibility of sorting it out, it sure is a tough job. Here are a few suggestions that may help you in that direction.

1 ) Listen to them often

Listen to their long sad story. Kids have their own world of problems, it may seem a little too uncomplicated to you to get stressed but in the background,the issue which you feel is meagre can give your kid many sleepless nights. There is a very thin line between sympathy and empathy. If you cannot understand the problem,you cannot sympathize with him but you can always lend a attentive ear.This takes away a lot of anxiety from their minds and they can reciprocate in a much better way.

2 ) Behave like an adult

Be good to them even if they are not in the best of their behaviour. Their stressful condition will not escape your attention for long.As a parent,jf you are too busy or ignoring something, do a self check and get on track. Is your kid behaving rather weird? Is he throwing tantrums just out of the blue? Instead of probing him through series of questions, just be as calm and controlled as possible and choose a right time to talk it out with him.This will further teach him to be more tough in life and ready to handle more complex situations.

3 ) Do Not be a over doting parent

Another good lesson for kids is to self judgement and self correction.There are some great dangers of too much care and cuddle, your kid may turn into a cry baby and never be able to face tough times. It is good to be caring but too much of anything is bad, give your kid a little space and time sometimes, and if things go beyond control, you are always on their side anyways. But till then just have a little more patience.

4 ) See yourself from your kids point of view

What do you do when you are stressed? Do you get abusive or start throwing things? If that's your attitude, be prepared to see the mirror. Kids pick up strong emotions very fast. Be it love or hatred, every emotion that comes out from you gets recorded in your kids memory. So think before you practice. If you take stress in a calm and controlled manner, you kid will learn from you all the time.

5 ) Lesson of being a better human being

Engage your kids in something useful, nature studies or any kind of outdoor sports is a very good way to start. When they participate in sports, they not only build good health but also gain a few other virtues like sportsman spirit, playing with a team and learning to compete to win sometimes and loose sometimes also. Being close to nature makes them more down to earth and humble.

There cannot be any foolproof formulae or guide which parents can read therefore teach their kids to follow.The situation of stress and the ways to handle it together vary in each family, but the crux of the matter is be together with your kids at such times and talk to them as a friend rather than as a teacher,they will surely learn much better.

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