Be the Boss of Your Stress: Self-Care for Kids

Be the Boss of Your Stress speaks to kids ages 8 and up with this message: When your body, mind, and spirit are balanced—working together—they help you stay healthy and positive, even when you have stress. Stress is your body’s reaction to things that worry you or make you feel unsure. When you are upset or anxious about something, your body produces energy boosting chemicals that may cause a rapid heartbeat, tense muscles, sweaty hands, poor digestion, and the inability to think clearly. When you start to have stress problems, talk to someone you love and trust, stay positive, have a laugh, stay active, stick with daily routines, and take care of yourself. You can take care of yourself with these body boss skills:

• Belly breathing
• Changing what you are thinking about
• Relaxing with positive self-talk
• Letting go and getting loose
• Aromatherapy
• Acupressure

Activities to learn and practice these skills are provided in the book. The included Be the Boss of Your Bodyr Kit contains easy-to-use tools that make it fun for kids (and adults) to learn to manage their health and wellness:

• Pinwheel: to help with breathing exercises
• Stress Ball: to help with stress relief and positive thinking
• Biofeedback Card: to tell you how much stress you have
• Acupressure Tool: to help you stimulate pressure points
to release endorphins and relieve pain symptoms
• Quick-Start Card: to get you started and keep you going
on self-care activities
• Carabiner: to attach the quick-start and biofeedback cards
to a backpack or jacket
• Stickers: to have fun remembering to practice and track
your progress

Kids will be happier and healthier when they are the boss of their bodies and can take care of most of their stress on their own. The self-care skills in this book do not replace health care professionals, but they do help kids learn what they can do to take care of themselves. They will learn to deal with being stressed out, whether related to school, friends, or stuff happening at home. As they learn to be less stressed, they will feel better and more in charge of their health.