If you are a child care provider working with children in military families, it is important to understand the stresses of military life and to find ways to help children relieve stress in the child care setting. Even the youngest children may experience stress during major changes related to military service, such as the absence of a parent during deployment or moving to a new home.
Children also respond to the stress of the people around them. When the parent …
There’s no question that military life can be stressful for all members of military families, including young children. Child care providers working with children from military families need to recognize that living in a military family has emotional ups and downs and find ways to help children cope with the stresses of military family life. The first step in helping children manage their stress is to understand how and why children in military families experience stress.
As Maggie surveys her active 3-year-olds on the playground, she notices one of the boys pointing a toy shovel like a gun out the window of the play structure. “Derrick!” she says as she comes closer, “you know we don’t play with guns at school. Find something else to play.”
This is a situation that plays itself out over and over in child care programs. Many child care providers are uncomfortable with children pretending to use weapons and want to …
Stress is a part of life and can be found all around us. Child care is no exception. There is good stress and bad stress. Stress can motivate us to get things, but too much stress can make our lives seem too hectic and overwhelming. Remember that children feel stress just as adults do. Child Care providers should be aware of the stressors each child is experiencing, and should be active in helping children in their child care programs manage …
