From pet therapy to yoga, schools address kids' stress. As school counselor Jennifer VonLintel gears up for the start of the school year at B.F. Kitchen Elementary School, there are new students to enroll, files to update and schedules to plan — including the schedule for Copper, her registered therapy dog and a popular presence in the hallways of the Loveland, Colo., school. Three days a week, the 3-year-old golden retriever's assignments can include mingling with kids during recess, being assigned to students who struggle with reading or math anxiety, and providing general companionship and support in the classroom, during counseling office visits, and during after-school programs. Any time a friendly, furry face can provide an extra measure of comfort and assurance, says VonLintel.
When there's a death in a family or a child receives bad news, "with the parents' permission, we'll introduce Copper to the situation," she says. "Kids find comfort in petting him, and sometimes the parents do, too. OTP_Nov09_UsingSensoryTools_Teens. Stuart Shanker: How Can a Five-Year-Old Be Stressed? Childhood is changing and we'd better start to address it soon. Ongoing research on kids' psychological development suggests that kids who are excessively withdrawn, or hyper-reactive, or act out too much are often sending a signal that their stress levels are too high. There is also a growing amount of research suggesting that kids have much higher levels of physiological stress than they did a generation ago and the adults in their lives need to start recognizing when children's problematic behaviours are due to these high stress levels.
Many perceive childhood as a time of simplicity and play. However, children show stress in complex ways that can represent serious signs of anxiety or a nervous system that is overloaded. Understanding that burden requires us to think of child stress differently than adult stress. Kids don't have to deal with the pressures of work, money and marriage. Loading Slideshow And let's not forget about those who care for the child. Self-Regulation: Calm, Alert, and Learning* Two recent Government of Ontario publications, With our Best Future in Mind[1] and Every Child Every Opportunity,[2] have brought self-regulation to the fore of that province’s early learning initiative. This thematic core reflects a growing awareness among developmental scientists that the better a child can self-regulate, the better she can rise to the challenge of mastering ever more complex skills and concepts.[3] But what exactly is self-regulation, and why is it so important for learning?
In the simplest terms, self-regulation can be defined as the ability to stay calmly focused and alert, which often involves – but cannot be reduced to – self-control. The idea that self-regulation and self-control are one and the same is surprisingly ancient, dating back to Plato. Five-domain Model Now, to be sure, what developmental scientists refer to today as effortful control (e.g., being able to inhibit one’s impulses or ignore distractions) is a critical element of self-regulation. . [1] C. CKCT_chapter6.