Relaxation is for kids, too!

As an adult, I experience stress on different levels. Be it a deadline to meet, juggling time among family, work, and school, or even upon hearing bad news from a loved one.

It didn’t take me a minute to realize that stress hits kids, too. As a parent, I would know when my own kids are caught in the gloom, and are in need of help. But do we have to wait until they are overly stressed? I guess not.

So here are my 5 stress management techniques for children-

1. Be positive—You would be surprised to find out that your attitude and way of thinking affects our children. When things don’t go our way (or even their own way), it’s highly possible that our kids get upset and feel stressed. If this happens, have a talk with them and explain. There is no fast rule on how to handle situations and what exactly to say but to be sincere to our children and explaining things at their level will somehow alleviate stress on their part.

2. Watch your kids’ shows with them—After a busy week of school, my kids surely need to unwind and have some form of relaxation. Watching their favourite shows as a family, bring up those sparkles in their eyes. Not only is this a good way to spend time with them (although I would suggest to find more productive activities other than watching television), but it only shows that we are interested in the things that they are interested in. So if your kid had a bad day in school, try to give him first a mug of hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows in it—that will surely brighten up their day. After that, go to the family room and watch their favourite shows.

3. Tune in to their mood—With my busy schedule in school, I always go home tired. But that is not an excuse for me not to ask my kids how they’re doing or what happened to them during the day. Ask questions like, “How’s school? Did you have fun?...”, or maybe you can ask them how things went in their class especially if you’re aware of their day-to-day activities. This will give you the opportunity to discuss things with your children and just be concerned of their feelings and thoughts. You would be surprised to know how easily kids can open up on a lot of things if you just take the time to slow down, pause , and get into their world.

4. Reward your kids—When my kids have been through a rough time, I make it a point that there are treats or sweets at home. Grab a candy or chocolate bar and give it to them, or better yet, hand them their favourite snacks—you would just see how that would lighten up their faces and feel relaxed.

5. Do some breathing exercises—Yes, breathing exercises can help relieve stress. As young as they are, you can teach a breathing exercise that will help them to relax. What I would do is tell my kids to breathe in deeply through their nostrils and then hold their breaths for 6 seconds, and then release it through their mouths. This breathing technique is very useful especially if your kids had gone through a tough day in school or if they’re having trouble finishing their homework.

So, there you go! My five techniques in children’s stress management. These techniques are not only limited to kids—you may also use any of them to help handle your own stress.

Here is a link which you may find helpful. Please click here http://www.stressmanagementtips.com/kids.htm

Dash Some Love Into Your Kids' Lunches

It’s been a few weeks already since school had started. For most of us, this is the time to get back to our regular routine of sending our kids off to school, picking them up, enrolling them in dance or piano classes and many others. Yes, it can be pretty hectic and daunting at first. But once we are following our schedules consistently, we’ll be able to get accustomed to it in no time.

Part of our kids’ day in school is eating their snacks and lunches. Most of us (I hope), have no problem preparing their food. If we follow Canada’s Food Guide To Healthy Eating, not only are we helping our kids, but we are also doing ourselves a favour, by keeping ourselves informed of what a balanced diet is. You know even as grown-ups, we too, also need to be reminded!

This morning, as I was preparing my kids’ lunches, my creative juices started to spill out. I suddenly thought of giving my kids a surprise. I took several markers and two napkins, and started working on something which will surely touch their hearts.

My finished product?...two works of art! An expressive way to show my love!

When my kids got back home from school, they were so excited. Both of them brought out the napkins I gave them, and gave me a warm, big hug. My youngest child thanked me for it and admitted that she was so surprised to find it in her lunch bag. My other daughter expressed her appreciation by giving me a kiss. At that moment, I felt so loved and appreciated.

Doing thoughtful things for our children, no matter how big or small they are, are always a ‘big hit’ to them. This cutesy love note writing (as I call it), is something which I have been doing for several years since my kids started going to school. It never fails to surprise them, and it just makes their day even brighter.

After I received their kisses and hugs, my husband got into the scene and jokingly asked, “Where’s mine?” I replied, “Oh, don’t you worry. I’ll make one for you—besides, you got a lot of kisses and hugs from me already.”

Husbands, they just can’t get enough!

A Change of Heart

To all my friends and followers of the blog, "On Places and Faces", you might be 'surprised' on 'WHY' I've changed the title, format and direction. There are a couple of main reasons to explain this sudden change of heart:

1) Relevance -- This is not to say that my former topic on travelling is irrelevant. In all honesty, I love to travel and will always be interested in it (even if my hair is turning grey and walking with a cane in my hand). After I have successfully set-up my blog and published two posts last week, there was this constant churning in my heart that caused me to ponder whether this was the topic that I would like to talk about for a long period of time. I realized that this wasn't the choice of topic dictated by my heart from the start. All the while, my heart has been wanting to talk about children -- a topic that I am passionate about. At that moment, my maternal instinct took a high jump and yelped, "YES! This is what I want to talk about in my blog!" I felt a rush of excitement within, as if I were baptized with cold water which awakened my senses-- FINALLY! Now, the topic on children is very much relevant in the world we live in. They are undoubtedly the hope of every nation and the reflection of who we really are.

2) My Passion -- We were told a few times before in our class, to write about something that we are interested in or passionate about. Something that we care to discuss with others and simply share our honest opinions and insights about the matter. Although we were clearly told that we can update and refine our blogs as time goes by, I made this big step to totally revamp my blog from top to bottom, inside and out. A move which I deemed wise; a move that I won't have any regrets; a move that will change lives forever. The new direction of my blog is about children. As a mother, this strikes a chord and touches a soft spot in my heart.


For many years, I have been working in different settings where children are involved. In my teens, I worked in a centre for disabled children for the whole summer. I had the privilege to teach arts & crafts, and bring hope to those little ones, whose lives were devastated by domestic abuse and the effects of certain diseases, which crippled their minds, bodies and souls. The time I spent as a volunteer in that centre was a turning point in my life. Besides from meeting their basic needs such as food, water, clothing and shelter, I also felt strongly about advocating their rights and general welfare.


Why the name, HEARTSTRINGS WINNIPEG?

As defined in www.dictionary.reference.com, 'heartstrings' refers to 'the deepest feelings and affections.'  This perfectly describes my passion towards children. From a mother's point of view, I can imagine the time when my kids were still small and learning to crawl. Those early years when I was ecstatic about their first few steps, and even the first few hours after their arrival to this world. My heart simply talks to theirs, where a continuous exchange of affectionate love is felt. There is also that bonding that exists, where my heartstrings are connected to theirs.

The intentions of this blog is to discuss issues affecting children. It would also include topics that would be of great interest to families about raising kids; safety; helpful tips on how to make the most of your quality time with them; various children's activities; arts and crafts; yummy recipes they will love; and so much more!

So whether you have kids or not, or simply work with children in your community, (or let's say, interested in advocating their rights and general welfare), then this blog is for you! Please feel free to give me your feedback on any topic that I will be covering. I am sure that you will find this quaint meeting place, very interesting!