STRESS

There will be times when however professional you are you will feel stressed.

Possible causes:

• You are tired or unwell
• Children testing your boundaries of discipline
• Cooped up (weather conditions)
• Excited and noisy children
• Children unwell
• Children tired
• Babies teething
• Hunger
• New children not getting on
• Squabbling

Advice:

Be on top of the situation, take a few seconds to step back and see what is happening, take control of yourself first then deal with the problem. If you blaze in with anger it hardly ever helps the situation.

Do a little deep breathing or count to ten. Then try and organize some different activity, divert the children’s energy to thought provoking games e.g. matching cards, puzzles, reading stories etc.

Or if you can find the energy, indoor denmaking. Make a space and get cushions out for climbing and jumping. Maybe play hide and seek or pretend shops.

Of course there is always outside play, weather permitting.

The children will forget they are trying to wind you up and the pressure will drop.

If none of this works, I reach for the lavender oil, put a few drops on my wrist, breath in, sit down with the children and read stories or even ‘chosen' TV programmes. Chill out, recharge your batteries. Remember you don’t get coffee or lunch breaks away from the children.

Then give everyone a big hug and feel proud of yourself.