Playing with clay can relieve stress for kids – Art making

Playing with clay can relieve stress for kids - Art making

Playing with clay can relieve stress for kids – Art making

By Spramani ELaun

Many children today suffer from stress and anxiety.

I would like to suggest playing with clay as an alternative to helping a child with stress.

Scheduling time to play with clay at least once a week can lead to beneficial stress relief.

As parent or caregiver you can provide lots of other helpful aids in managing stress; better nutrition, adequate sleep, less anxiety-provoking situations, positive assuring words and more simple time to relax and just be a kid.

In my art classes I’ve witnessed positive results from children exploring clay in a playful manner which always leads to relaxation.

Most of my art activities like clay play is multi-sensory engaging and helps children relax and play calmly.

It’s common knowledge unstructured simple play is healthy for young children developing.

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Playing with clay can relieve stress for kids - Art making activityWhy is playing with clay a calming or relaxing activity?

Touching clay induce stimulating neural in-put from most of our sensory senses.

When a young child starts touching, forming or modeling it’s considered active learning.

Playing with clay stimulates touch tactile input, visual pathways communicate with both left and right hemispheres of the brain and auditory and smell sensory systems are also collecting information.

Playing with clay can relieve stress for kids - Art making activity

Playing with clay is a high visual-auditory connectivity in the brain.

Strong connectivity occurs and the child becomes intensely focused on his hand work.

Children using their hands can be so engaged that other stress related thoughts clear their minds.

The electrical activity stimulated in the brain becomes a different type of action firing connections allowing children to focus on their hand work only.

A calming effect takes place because cognitive processing is occurring while forming or manipulating clay.

It’s good for children during their sensitive periods to develop good habits and activities that can help early in life to regulate relaxation by creative hand work.

“A child playing with clay can be transformed into a relaxed meditative state!”

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Playing with clay can relieve stress for kids

Any type of clay can work!

Many types of clay are available for this type of exploring.

Only use non-toxic child grade products.

You can use any type of clay, in fact you should allow children to try all different types of clay at some point in time.

You can also make quick easy modeling dough from simple kitchen ingredients.

Clay can be non-hardening, air-hardening or baked to harden.

Natural modeling beeswax can also be used for clay play forming.

You can order these types of clay online or find them in most craft and art supply store.

Playing with clay can relieve stress for kids - Art making activity

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What should children make with clay?

To promote relaxation you should allow the child to explore their hand work with minimal instruction.

Keep this time to relaxing and child-led creating. Simple projects can be guided by making forms like rolling ball or snake coil shapes as a starting point.

Visit our blog archives or Pinterest pages for clay play ideas.

Order Clay Play  a new book by Spramani Elaun for clay playing ideas and materials list.

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