Helping Children Cope with Political Stress
Stress is at an all-time high for most of the families that I see in my practice. Many parents are struggling to find ways to model self-care when they themselves are feeling so depleted. I work with individuals, parents, and families to find balance in their lives, using a combination of both change-based and acceptance-based self-care strategies.
Below, you’ll find some of the strategies that families have told me have worked the best for them to model self-care in their children’s daily lives.
In times like these, I wish for you: Be well. Be active. Be supported.
Make space for your child to process reactions to current politics and share emotional responses.
•Ask open-ended questions about how your child is feeling. Use reflective statements (repeat back exactly what your child said) to let your child know that they are being heard and understood.
•Allow open and honest discussion of fears, anxieties, hopes, and questions.
•Invite your child to ask questions that they have or discuss rumors that they have heard at school. Give age appropriate responses that answer your child’s question, while highlighting the protections that are in place to keep them safe.
Model self-care and practice as a family.
•Create a daily routine to practice simple relaxation skills (eg. deep breathing before bed, family walks, reading, drawing, prayer), and practice additionally when anyone in the family is feeling stressed.
•Talk about your own emotional responses and explicitly model how you take care of yourself.
•Practice staying in the present moment as a family. Practice activities that use the 5 senses (eg. cooking, going out into nature, listening to music) as a way to help your children continue to enjoy present experiences and as a way to redirect attention away from worries about the future or things that are out of their control.
Foster a sense of safety during times of uncertainty.
•Create a consistent routine of activities and rituals that your child can depend on (eg. same bedtime, weekly outings or errands, consistent and nonviolent discipline, religious activities or family traditions).
•Create a Family Safety Plan and include your child in the planning process (eg. Inform your child who will pick them up from school if you are ever unable to do so, have a family contact that older members of the family can call to coordinate in the event of an emergency, organize important family documents so that they are safe and accessible).
Be careful not to pass on misinformation or gossip. Use media wisely and access information from reputable resources.
•Discuss information found online with your child and compare information from multiple sources.
•Help your child sit with uncertainty when clear answers to their questions are not immediately available. Remind them that it is the grown up’s job to keep them safe.
Invite your family to participate in the political process.
•Draw pictures of their hopes for your family and the country.
•Write a letter to a local community leader or representative to let your voice be heard.
•Attend local church or community meetings to process family reactions to the election and participate in community efforts to make positive changes. Do not give up hope for a better future.
Coordinate with your child’s school to access all available supports.
•Consult with teachers to find out how your child is coping in the classroom.
•Participate in local school meetings and access available services for your child.
•Give up to date emergency contact information of back-up caregivers to your child’s school.
•Discuss discrimination and bullying with your child. Talk to school officials if your child is having any problems feeling safe at school. Help your child recognize bullying towards other students and roleplay a safe and proactive response.
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Anna Lindberg Cedar, MPA, LCSW #64284 is a Bay Area psychotherapist who specializes in burnout prevention. She is an expert practitioner of Dialectical Behavior Therapy — a counseling style that combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other change-based skills with mindfulness and other acceptance-based strategies. Find out more: www.annacedar.com .
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