PW invited selected parents of Redbricks Early Years Centre and Redbricks School, Ahmedabad to share tips on preparing children to overcome anxiety in school
“Encouraging dinner table conversations with our 10-year-old daughter Aanshi and seven-year-old son Ayan has worked wonders. This daily routine has encouraged our children to share their good and bad experiences without hesitation as they realise we are making an effort to hear them out despite our busy lives. Patiently listening to their problems helps us find potential solutions, and we try and involve our children in choosing one that he/she thinks will work best. We also believe relaxation through sport and other co-curricular activities is essential and encourage our children to actively participate in school sports, dance, art and music.” — Alpa Mistry, principal architect, Landscape Design.
“I know some parents who are overprotective of their children, with disastrous results. Hence, I have taught my children — Ananya (5) and Priyansh (2) — to develop positive thinking in confronting their worst fears. Moreover, I have introduced in story tale fashion the practises of bullying, ragging and bad touch as issues that need to be reported immediately to adults and not suffered in silence. To motivate positive behaviour, I reward them with praise, a hug, sticker or even their favourite meal. — Vishakha Hemlani, homemaker
“Our adult lives are full of anxious moments. These days even children aren’t spared stress. But I do believe parents have a critical role to play in helping children cope with anxiety/stress. Children absorb the reactions of their parents to stressful situations. Therefore it becomes our duty to implement stress management techniques of in our own lives. A peaceful home environment has truly helped my daughter Aanshi (7) and son Shaurya (4) to discuss freely their fears and anxities. Thanks to her grandparents, Aanshi has developed positive thinking skills which have helped her overcome anxiety to a great extent.” — Payal Kuntal Shah, people manager, Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.
“Most of us try to avoid stressful situations forgetting that avoidance doesn’t help relieve stress. In fact, it adds to it. Learning from that lesson, I advise my son Vyoam (5) to gather courage to face stressful situations rather than run away from them. We also encourage daily relaxation routines which include engaging in outdoor and indoor games. Simple games like Ludo or Snakes & Ladders can be great fun and help calm frayed nerves. Playing cricket has taught Vyoam to acknowledge failure and celebrate success.” — Bhairavi Dhoot, architect, Reasoning Instincts Architecture Studio.