There are specific steps we can take as parents and caregivers to help kids deal with stress and cultivate resiliency.
I'm not a mom. My boyfriend has a 5-year-old son who I see once each week. I love Ethan with all my heart, but I'm not responsible for his well-being, except as a member of his village, so to speak.
"Can I help?"
If the boys are playing video games, I go in the other room and make a sculpture out of clay. It never fails that when they walk through for a break, the little guy is drawn to my quiet, creative play. So, I toss a lump of gooey clay into his little hands, if even for a minute.
"What's Yoga?"
When I saw Ethan instinctively curled into Child's Pose to self-soothe after an arguement, it occured to me that I would love to share Yoga with him. But I've been stymied as to how I could describe the poses in terms he could understand.
The book I've just reviewed, Yoga Calm for Children really helped with that challenge! What a great approach, and simple, clear ideas for giving children the ideas behind the poses using archetypes and metaphors.
Emotional First Aid
Another thing Yoga Calm taught me about was what to do as a caring adult in Ethan's life when he's experiencing big, strong emotions. His dad's really good about that stuff, but I had honestly grown fearful of the responsibility of being left alone with him. Now, I feel more secure about dealing with whatever comes up in a way that is healthy and supportive for Ethan, which is what any quasi-step-girlfriend-parent-ish person would want.
