Teach Your Child a Unique Way to Cope By: Grandma Jeddah

You know what therapy is, right?  Therapy is simply treating someone to make them feel better.  Have you ever thought of using water therapy as a means of helping your child calm down?

Water Therapy

        Some ADHD/ADD and special needs children have a natural tendency to spend long periods in the bathtub or shower.  It’s no wonder.  The soft thump of warm water drops massaging their back, neck and other body areas is a soothing pleasure. So is the muscle relaxing delight of reclining in a warm tub of water and allowing the water to penetrate their body from neck to toe.

        Introduce your child to the relaxing joys of a warm bath or shower.  Let her know this is another option she can use when feeling down and out. 

       

Bubble Bath

Remember how blissful it was when you used to take bubble baths as a kid. There’s just something about a cloud of bubbles piling up all around you and the hollow sound of running water feeding into the white foam.  What a wonderful treat!  Pick up a bottle of bubble bath from the discount store and have it available for your daughter the next time she loses her temper.  Let her know ahead of time that the bubble bath is an option she can use whenever she gets stressed out.

Aroma Therapy

Herbalists and those knowledgeable in homeopathy suggest that taking in the fragrance of lavender oil is therapeutic against stress. I don’t know how authentic this claim is, but I do know that some people find great pleasure in smelling nice aromatic scents. There are several hadith, in fact, in which the Prophet (saw) encouraged Muslims to use scents.

If a man takes a bath on Friday, purifies himself thoroughly, uses oil and perfume which is available in the house, sets forth for the Masjid, does not (forcibly) sit between two persons, offers the prayer that is prescribed for him and listens to the Imaam silently, his sins between this Friday and the previous Friday will be forgiven."

(Riyad-us- Saliheen / V1/ H828 / Hadeeth Sahih)

"Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) never used to refuse Taib (attar, perfume oils, oil fragrances, musk oils) and used to say that the Prophet (peace be upon him) never used to refuse (a gift of) scent."

(Sahih al-Bukhari / V7 / H5929)

Light up some incense or bakhoor in your home when your child is upset.  Place some natural smelling oils (such as lavender) in your child’s bathtub to calm him down. 

        Does aroma therapy really work?  The jury is out on that.  But it certainly couldn’t hurt. Give it a try!

This is an excerpt from Grandma Jeddah’s FREE e-Book: Discipline without Disrespecting: 8 Tips to Taming Your Muslim child's Temper.  To download your FREE e-Book or receive Grandma Jeddah's FREE newsletter, visit her at http://www.grandmajeddah.com/

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