August 30th, 2010 | 0 Comments
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan & Dr. Howard Margolis
Many parents of children with disabilities worry—constantly. They fear the future, they feel extremely anxious—constantly. So do their children. Often, extreme, constant anxiety—fear of the future, fear that “I can’t handle it” and the results will be awful— creates physical and emotional distress. Physically, it can cause or aggravate endrocrine, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular problems (Hanson & Mendius, 2009). Emotionally, it can cause or aggravate depression as well as sleep, attention, learning, social, and behavioral problems.
Fortunately, through relaxation, many parents and children can reduce excessive anxiety. Anxiety and relaxation are opposites. It’s hard—perhaps impossible—to feel anxious when relaxed. For some children, relaxation has produced important benefits:
August 1st, 2010 | 0 Comments
by Lori Lite/Founder of Stress Free Kids
My kid was a clinger and did not want to go to school. She held my leg tightly and screamed so loudly I wanted to cry. So I did what every stressed out and embarrassed mom would do…
July 8th, 2010 | 1 Comment
by Annie Fox, M.Ed
It’s totally normal for teens and everyone else to get stressed at times. Stress knocks people off-balance. Getting “back in balance” or re-centering reduces stress. It’s that simple. There’s a special kind of BREATHING called re-centering breathing. It can help you when things get rough. When you do it, it can help you stop a stress-response before you lose control and end up doing stuff that you “don’t want to do.” This kind of breathing isn’t hard to do, but it takes practice. The trick is to remember to do it while you’re feeling stressed.
May 26th, 2010 | 1 Comment
Just as the regulation of sleep cycles for teens in particular is instrumental in overall adolescent well-being, so too is time management. Not only are teens undergoing enormous changes, both emotionally and physically, but they have the added weight of having to keep up with the proverbially hectic junior high or high school schedule. Here are a few tips to help your teen manage her time such that she makes the most out of her academics and extracurricular, but keeps her stress levels low, too.
1. If your child is particularly challenged by time management, don’t over-structure.
While almost all teens exhibit similar behavior patterns, you can’t forget that your child is an individual with individual needs. If your teen cannot manage her time well, then don’t make the mistake of setting too rigorous a schedule for her. It will be too difficult to stick to, especially initially, and that sets up your child for failure and even more inadvertent stress. Try establishing flexible time frames for homework, chores, and play, not strict, set hours every single day. This way, your teen will have more breathing room without procrastinating too much.
May 20th, 2010 | 0 Comments
October 25, 2009 Review from Mommies with Cents
According to Anxiety Disorders Association America and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorder facing children today and 70% of school age children say that they worry. Lori Lite has created a line of books and CD’s to help teach children how to cope with relaxation and stress management techniques. Lori is the Atlanta mom and entrepreneur who was recently on ABC’s national tv show Shark Tank. (See her video on YouTube here.)
I received Affirmation Weaver (book) and Indigo Ocean Dreams (CD) for this review. The book was beautifully illustrated and unique. It was written to help children achieve self-esteem. The story is about a dolphin who is sad because he doesn’t jump as high as the other dolphins. A Sea Child (mermaid) comes along and with the help of her sea creature friends, help the dolphin feel good about himself with sayings like “I believe in myself” and “I can do it”. I, of course, thought the message of the story was great and my son enjoyed all of the different sea creatures. Anything that helps instill positive messages in my children’s lives gets a thumbs up in my book!
May 10th, 2010 | 0 Comments
With school winding down and colleges finishing up teens are adjusting to another change in their schedules. When they are still living at home it’s easier to monitor and have input on their schedules but when they are away at school who knows what type of sleep they are getting. If they are home for the summer here are a few ideas to get them back on track with proper sleep.
Most teens need about 8½ to more than 9 hours of sleep each night. But about 1 in 4 teens has trouble sleeping. Lack of sleep can affect everything from our emotions to how well we focus on tasks like driving. It can affect sports performance, increase our chances of getting sick, and may be linked to weight gain in some people.
How can we get the sleep we need? Here are some ideas:
- Be active during the day. You’ve probably noticed how much running around little kids do — and how soundly they sleep. Take a tip from a toddler and get at least 60 minutes of exercise a day. Physical activity can decrease stress and help people feel more relaxed. Just don’t work out too close to bedtime because exercise can wake you up before it slows you down.
May 1st, 2010 | 0 Comments
By Lori Lite
Top 10 fun tips you and your child will love!
- Serve up a mostly banana, banana split for an early evening snack. The high content of potassium, magnesium and serotonin found in bananas promote relaxation and earns you big points with the kids.
- Teach your child belly breathing with a story called “Sea Otter Cove”. This simple, self-calming technique decreases stress and insures a more restful sleep.
- Have a good laugh! Take turns telling jokes or reading a joke book together. Laughter is a great stress reducer and encourages happy dreams.
- Be creative! Paint a soothing dolphin on their bedroom wall or hang a large photo of their favorite pet. It is comforting to fall asleep looking at a smiling face.
- Turn on your favorite relaxation music or try a CD designed to lull children to sleep while teaching them relaxation techniques. The “Indigo Dreams” CD is a kid favorite.
- Try an eye pillow. It is a novelty for kids and it keeps their eyes closed long enough to fall asleep.
- Change your child’s bed sheets and blanket to a calming shade of blue. Blue’s restful and peaceful qualities evoke images of tropical waters and clear skies.
- Create a kid spa by making a bubble bath and lighting candles instead of lights. Yes, even kids enjoy pampering themselves.
- Take your child outside to blow bubbles. Imagine putting anything you are worried about into the bubble and watch it float away. The “Indigo Dreams: Garden of Wellness” CD has a bubble blowing practice session to help you out.
- Exchange foot rubs, back massages, or facials. You and your child will both benefit from this one!
For more information on helping children manage stress & anxiety visit our Stress Free Kids website
April 27th, 2010 | 0 Comments
Lori Lite, creator of Stress Free Kids helps teens tame their own stress.
Managing anxiety is just a breath away. Enjoy this easy breathing technique taken from the Indigo Teen Dreams CD. Download it to your desktop and import it into iTunes, iPhone, iPod, Zune.
Download this FREE MP3 from the Indigo Teen Dreams CD.
Most parents recognize (and remember) that the teenage years are a volatile time marked by the struggle for independence, the forging of identity, the painful process of emotional maturation, and the learning of societal norms. Yet parents often underestimate the toll that the stress from these years can take on a teen.
This teenage stress has never been more prevalent. Teenagers are living ever-more complex lives in a society that increasingly treats them as younger adults. It is as important as it’s ever been, then, for parents to recognize the causes of teen stress and to take measures to relieve or combat it.
Lori Lite, author and creator of Stress Free Kids, a line of books, CDs, and curriculums designed to help children manage anxiety, stress, and anger while promoting self-esteem and peaceful sleep, warns that untreated, teen stress can lead to illness, depression or worse.
April 20th, 2010 | 0 Comments
By Marianella Alvarado-Michel B.S., ICADC, ICCDP Addiction Counselor
“73% of teenagers reported that school stress was the primary reason for drug use. This study clearly tells us that kids in America do not know how to deal with stress and that they are self-medicating by getting involved in substances and addictive behaviors.”
Addictions in general and substance abuse are not only about not being able to say no; instead they are much more complex issues in which kids do not know how to deal with the emotions induced by stress and daily life issues. The reason kids do not have this ability is not because they are not capable, it is because they have not been taught how to deal with the stresses of life.
Many times as parents we think that our kids will never be affected by stress and that we will be able to protect them, but the reality is that we are not constantly with them and we cannot protect them all the time. Our only option is to give them the tools deal with stress more effectively. Free download. (see below)
March 11th, 2010 | 3 Comments
Nothing is worse than realizing that the screaming child on the plane is your own! The restrictive space and criticizing eyes of other passengers puts parents at an extreme disadvantage. Most children realize that you will most likely not discipline them in public. So how can you avoid this challenge and set yourself up for a Stress Free trip?
Airplane Tips:
- Pack an activity bag. My secret ingredient was Crayola modeling magic. Bring a few different colors but only give your child one color at a time. Whenever they grow tired of the color surprise them with another color. Bring a few sculpting tools like plastic fork, spoon, q-tips. Don’t be surprised if the adult passengers want to join in on the fun. (Even young children enjoy watching the parent work the clay.)
- Allow more time than usual for traveling. A rushed child is often a screaming child.
- Pack healthy snacks and drinks. Most airlines no longer offer meals or anything more than peanuts and pretzels. A hungry or thirsty child is usually a crying child.
- A laptop with a movie and headphones is a great way to keep kids entertained on a plane.
- Bring along relaxation tracks or classical music. The best scenario is a sleeping child until you land!
- Most children cry during takeoff and landing. Try to plan bottle time for takeoff and landing. The sucking action helps babies clear their ears.
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