The level of anxiety has increased even for young children to almost 9.2% according to a recent study published in JAMA pediatrics. With this increased level of anxiety, early childhood educators face another challenge in dealing with young children’s anxiety.

Anxiety becomes a barrier to a child’s developmental growth. A highly anxious child can become either more irritable or withdrawn or they report physical ailments to indicate the manifestation of anxiety. Anxious children do not learn and develop at the same pace as their peers.

Breathing exercises

Deep breathing brings more oxygen to the heart, slows down the heart rate, and calms down an anxious child. Having breathing exercises first thing in the morning can help everyone calm down especially after an anxiety-inducing drop-off. As young children still adjust to going back to childcare and being away from parents, breathing exercises can help the child focus their thoughts on something else.

Dance time

When worrying thoughts keep on intruding a young child’s mind, turn it away by having positive and lively music young children can dance to. This loosens them up physically and mentally. As their mind concentrates on the rhythmic upbeat music, they are also warming their bodies up, loosening stiff joints and muscles, and releasing the stress in their bodies. It can also help wind them down from being anxious and leads to a calmer young child with a clear mind ready for learning.

Playdough or sensory ball play session

Play material that can be easily manipulated helps in easing children’s anxiety. It provides children a creative outlet to release their stress onto something else.

Coloring session

An anxious child can feel powerless and not in control of things and events surrounding them. By letting them do a coloring activity, they get to be in control again, from choosing the colors they use to the pattern they want to color. It also gives them an opportunity to divert their attention to a single thing, clearing their mind of anxious thoughts.

Free play

To a young child, playing is a natural way of life. They mostly learn through play, if not express themselves, expend excessive energy. Free play lacks a clear goal, directions or rules which frees up a child from worries of achieving a certain result while playing. Free play also unlocks their imagination and helps them think about something else, like play make-believe where they have full control and makes them feel in charge instead of helpless.

The rise of cases of anxiety in young children can be due to a number of factors. However, early childhood educators can do these activities to calm down an anxious young child in their care. As young children still lack the vocabulary to fully express their thoughts and feelings, these activities can be effective in keeping those anxious thoughts and state at mind at bay. What’s important is making these young children feel and think they are back in control of the present and reducing their fears and worries by having caring and compassionate adults such as their early education teachers and care providers to rely upon.