3 Routines to Help Kids Cope with Stress

September 20, 2022 byAlyssa Austin

4 min to read

Middle school student engaging in online school - Connections Academy

Between rigorous programming, high expectations for performance, and constant demands on their time and attention, school can easily become a source of stress for students. This is especially true for online school students, who must deal with those stressors in a flexible schedule environment without the time framework and structure of traditional school.

High levels of stress aren’t healthy for anyone, but they can be especially harmful for kids. Read on to learn more about how to help kids deal with stress and gain some actionable strategies for using routines to combat stress and overwhelm.

What Is Stress for Kids?

Stress isn’t always a bad thing; in small doses, stress can have a positive effect of improving focus, inciting preparation, or even helping kids stay safe. But experiencing excessive stress can take an especially negative toll on kids by affecting the way they think, act, and feel in a way that wouldn’t as heavily impact a more developed adult, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. In fact, even small stressors can negatively act on children’s feelings of security and safety.

Therefore, for kids aged elementary to high school who are still growing and developing, it’s crucial to develop positive and productive ways to deal with stress.

How to Identify Stress in Children

If you are repeatedly observing any of the following behaviors, your child may be dealing with excessive stress:

Increased irritability or moodiness
Regularly expressing feelings of worry
Decrease in joy or excitement about activities they used to enjoy
Complaining about school
High resistance to going to school
Disruption in usual eating or sleeping patterns
Declining grades

How Routines Help Kids Cope with Stress

Whether your child is struggling with the flexible structure of online school or dealing with stress in other areas of life, routines are a great way to create some structure and associated feelings of increased control and decreased stress. Routines are great because they can establish a sense of predictability, which can help kids feel safe and secure.

3 Great Routines to Help Kids Cope with Stress

Wondering how to help kids with stress? Here are three ways to integrate routines to aid stressed-out students:

1. Establish a pre-school morning routine.

Creating a morning routine that your student completes before school is a great way to add in some structure and a sense of control to their day before school stressors even begin. A quick, reliable morning routine can help build confidence and positive expectations in your child at the start of each day. These morning routines for kids don’t have to be lengthy to be effective; they just have to be easily repeatable, and make your child feel good to do.

Consider including elements such as:

Making the bed
Sitting down for breakfast in the kitchen (or a designated area)
Picking out clothes and getting dressed for the day
Feeding the family pet
Sharing one thing they are grateful for, or excited about for the day ahead

2. Create a “disconnect from school” routine.

Especially if your student is enrolled in online or virtual school, it’s a great idea to come up with a “disconnect” routine that helps to switch their brainpower and energy away from school at the end of each day. Encourage them to come up with three things they do at the end of each school day to tell their brain they are done with school for the day. Some great ideas for this are:

Closing the computer and putting it fully away in a designated location
Putting away any other school supplies used that day
Going for a walk or play session outside
Having an after-school snack
Doing an activity they enjoy for at least 15 minutes

3. Come up with a “night before” routine.

One of the best times to prepare for the coming day is the night before. Help your child come up with a brief “night before” routine to help them feel calmer, more centered, and prepared for the next day. This routine can include typical “before bed” activities, such as brushing their teeth, taking a bath or shower, reading a book, but it can also include activities such as thinking about any special preparations for the next day, laying out their clothes and school items, or anything else that will help them feel set up for success the following morning.

A parent and child go for a hike to decrease stress.

Other Great Strategies for How to Help Kids with Stress

In addition to integrating routine into your student’s life, here are some other tips for helping kids cope with stress:

Encourage exercise and physical activity, which is strongly associated with stress relief
Use active listening to really listen to your student’s concerns so they feel heard
Enforce the importance of getting enough sleep
Spend time outside to reconnect with nature
Practice mindfulness

Looking for more ways to help your student deal with stress in a healthy way? Check out our article, “How to Manage Stress in School at Every Grade Level.”