Teaching coping skills to your young kids will make them stronger, more resilient adults. Guaranteed, your kids will face stressful experiences at some point in their lives. And certainly, you’ll want to do everything you can to prepare them for those times. Surprisingly, many valuable coping skills can be learned through play. Here are five examples of how play and coping go hand in hand.
1. Play encourages creative coping skills in kids.
Engaging in creative activities like art, music, or writing can provide a fulfilling escape from stress. For young kids, all those creative outpourings have their start as play activities. In fact, kids are naturally creative and have a way of turning everything into art projects. With a little encouragement, kids can learn to recognize their creative talents as coping mechanisms.
2. Play teaches kids to cope by talking about their feelings.
When kids play with friends, especially when they do character play, they practice their verbal skills. Additionally, friend play gives kids chances to practice expressing their emotions. Since all coping starts with expressing a problem, this kind of play will help kids be more self-aware into adulthood.
3. Play teaches kids to cope through exercise.
Most little kids don’t necessarily enjoy organized exercise. However, they all love a quick game of tag or hide-and-seek. In fact, the majority of a child’s exercise should come from play. Since exercise sets off anti-stress reactions in the brain, playful exercise is a great way to help kids cope with stress.
4. Play can teach kids to be cope confidently.
One of the most essential coping mechanisms kids can learn is just to believe in themselves. After all, nothing seems overwhelming to someone who’s confident they can accomplish anything. Play helps kids discover who they are and what they’re good at. In turn, this helps them gain confidence to try new things and see challenges through.
5. Play can help you find a support group for teaching your kids coping skills.
A lot of parents around you are looking for ways to teach kids coping skills, too. So, as your kids make friends playing, it’ll give you opportunities to make friends, too. By doing this, you’ll have the opportunity to share coping ideas with others. Additionally, you’ll be able to see first hand how your new friend’s coping skills look in real life. That is to say, you’ll get to watch them teaching their kids coping skills first-hand.
At Coconut Cove, we firmly believe in the importance of child’s play! Coconut Cove is an indoor playground featuring all sorts of ways to play, from slides to building blocks to ball cannons. Visit our locations in Centerville, Utah, and Vineyard, Utah, for an awesome play experience.