Parent Support Project: Tackling the Toolbox

SOCL 306: Stress and Crisis in Families

Purpose

The purpose of this parent support product is to help ease the stress of parenting preschoolers. This resource is to educate parents and to provide information pertaining to:

• Developmental milestones in their children,
• Stress management strategies,
• Creation of age-appropriate activities for their children,
• How to work with their children daily to meet goals,
• And how to better navigate spending time engaging with their children.

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SMART Objectives

The completed Parent Support Resource will:

• Contain information about preschool child development.
• Connect child development information to fun activities parents can do with children that can be done in a short time, with resources readily available in most households.
• Identify common stressors parents of preschoolers often experience.
• Provide tips and resources for managing common stressors preschool parents typically experience.
• Provide tips for parents to care for themselves.

What was the process for this project?

After being placed into teams of five we:

• Researched and gathered information about:
• The developmental milestones of preschoolers age 3-5.
• Age-appropriate activities that correlated with the physical, social, and emotional milestones.
• Common parenting challenges and tips for how to deal with them.
• The importance of parental mental health and self-care tips for parents.
• We then collaborated as a class to identify the most important information to highlight in the resource.
• Then we collaborated in groups to create the design for the resource.
• We created slides for pages about:
• Activities for parents and children
• Parental challenges
• Importance of parental mental health and self-care tips

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The Parent Toolbox: Practical Tips and Strategies for Parenting Preschoolers

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Dear Parents and Guardians,

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This booklet is designed to serve as a toolkit to provide you with engaging, easy-to-implement activities and valuable parenting tips. Our goal is to empower you to foster a nurturing environment where you and your child thrive.

Inside this toolkit you will find:

• Fun, interactive activities to boost learning and development.
• Practical parenting advice for everyday challenges.
• Insights into promoting mental well-being for the whole family.
• Effective strategies for encouraging positive behaviors.

We hope this resource helps you:

• Support your child’s cognitive, social and emotional growth.
• Enhance your relationship through meaningful interactions.
• Develop essential life skills and resilience.
• Access expert-backed guidance for confident parenting.

Created by Longwood University Sociology Students

Fun and Free Activities to Do with Your Children!

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Read!

Let your child pick a book to read together, or you can pick one they'll enjoy! Make it fun by using voices and sound effects to bring the story to life. While reading to your child, ask questions every now and then to know what they are thinking and seeing! It’s a great way to get them ready for school since so many early activities involve listening and following along with stories.

Scavenger Hunt!

Create a list of things for your child to find and collect! You can pick items from around the house, outside, or a mix of both. Watch them search or join in to make it even more exciting! This game is great for helping kids move around, think creatively, and use their problem-solving skills. Plus, it gives a boost to the motor skills they’ll use in school!

Simon Says!

Make clean up time fun for your child by playing Simon Says with them! You should say “Simon says clean up your dolls!” or “clean up your dolls!” When you do not put Simon Says in front of a task, your child should not complete the task you told them to. This will help your child develop better listening skills, which is an important task for school readiness.

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Hide and seek!

Play a fun game of hide-and-seek with your child! Take turns being the “hider” and the “seeker,” or hide a toy for them to find, then let them hide it for you to find. This game gets kids moving, running, and searching, which is great for their motor skills. Plus, it’s a fun way to build social skills, imagination, and creativity as they think of clever hiding spots! It’s also perfect for getting them ready for school, where they’ll use both social and motor skills.

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Temper Tantrum

Preschool children often have temper tantrums as they seek more independence and feel frustrated when things don’t go their way. They may also struggle to express their emotions verbally.

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Defiance

Children show their independence by testing boundaries. However, when children are disciplined for overstepping boundaries, they may show their frustration by not listening and disobeying you.

Common Challenges Parenting Preschoolers

If your child has a tantrum:

1. Stay calm. Try distracting them and acknowledge their feelings.
2. In a soft voice, help them calm down by counting down from 10, encouraging them to "breathe" and "calm down."

Let them know you understand but that their behavior must improve. Praise them as they settle down.

How to reduce your child’s defiance and encourage them to be more cooperative:

• Reward your child with incentives or something fun (snacks, stickers, etc.) when they do/display what you ask.
• Set clear rules for your child.
• Encourage self control with your children. Deter from poor behaviors and praise when they problem solve on their own.

Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is when children get overwhelmed/upset when you or a trusted adult leaves the room. This is a sign that your child loves and trusts you greatly, wants you to stay, and is most likely afraid you won’t come back.

Tips

Tips to Help Your Child Adjust When You Leave Them at School or with Another Caregiver:

• Set up a routine (helps with trust and comfort)
• Assure with affirming words, such as “see you soon” or “Don’t worry, I will be back before you know it.”
• Ensure the caregiver understands your time of return to remind your child that you’ll be back.

• Taking care of your physical and mental health is just as important as taking care of your children.
• Your mental health directly affects how well you can support and care for your children.
• Did you know that children can sense their parent's stress? Children can feel sad or anxious or confused when their parents are really stressed.
• Maintaining good mental health enhances your ability to cope with stress and make decisions.

The Importance of Mental Health:

Mental health/self-care tips:

Set Boundaries: In order to properly recharge, distinguish and set limits between family/work obligations and personal time.

Maintain physical health: Eating well, drinking water, exercising, and getting proper sleep all contribute to better mental health.

Engage in Mindfulness Techniques: Activities such as yoga, journaling, and meditation can help you cope with stress and feel grounded.

Set a daily routine for you and your family: Creating and implementing a structured routine reduces stress for both children and parents.

Seek Social Support: Create a network of friends, family, or support groups to talk about things that are causing you stress and to gain support.

• Spending time with friends and family can be a way to have fun, laugh, and talk about what's on your mind.

Set aside time for yourself (and with your partner): Find time during the day for activities that bring you joy and relieve stress. Additionally, set aside private time with your partner apart from your children to do things you enjoy.

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Thank You!

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Any Questions?

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