Richland Library boredom busters: Recommendations for managing children and teen emotions

As the state of South Carolina continues to stress the importance of social distancing and implement additional measures to prevent community spread of the coronavirus, Richland Library is bolstering its digital resources, which include eBooks and eAudiobooks with Overdrive and CloudLibrary; music with Freegal; movies and TV shows with hoopla or Kanopy; and eMagazines with RB Digital and Flipster. Find links to these resources at richlandlibrary.com.

You’ll need a library card to access Richland Library’s online resources. Don’t have a Richland Library card? No problem, that’s easy to fix and you can do it while sitting on your sofa. Go to www.richlandlibrary.com/polaris-auto-register.

Since we all can use a little welcomed distraction these days, the staff at the Richland Library offers these recommendations or managing children and teen emotions during this turbulent time.

Right now, it’s hard to quiet our minds. Worry and anxiety about the unknown seem to rush in at a moment’s notice. Our children can feel this upset most keenly. Disruption of routine and distance from their friends can lead to frustration, anger and fear. It’s difficult, at times, to know how to help when we ourselves feel adrift in a sea of emotions. “I Am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness” is a wonderful family read-aloud that can help our children (and us) tame the tension, calm the worry and be present. Simple, sensory-rich text, supported by spare art, guides readers to still their thoughts and become aware of the world around them. This practice allows you and your children to tune into your feelings but not be overwhelmed by them. Author Susan Verde makes getting started with mindfulness easy and has tips for children and caregivers alike. I recommend beginning or ending your family’s day with this book. You’ll be surprised at what a little peace can do.

In a town straight out of a YA novel (zombies, vampires and a mysterious group called “The Immortals”), high school senior Mikey just wants to live his normal life. This satirical take on the genre explores what it’s like to be a “nobody” in a town full of “somebodies” and how battling everyday demons can be just as difficult as fighting off alien attacks. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy coming-of-age stories, frank and realistic depictions of anxiety and emotion, and healthy doses of humor. It’s recommended for older teens.

During stressful times, classical music can soothe and calm, enlighten and inspire, and make us feel humanity at its best. For children, classical music improves concentration and listening skills, enhances synaptic brain function, encourages creativity, and creates calm where there might be chaos. Many studies indicate children who listen to classical music have improved cognition too.

There is so much wonderful classical music from which to choose and share with your children that it can be hard to know where to start. Of course, you cannot go wrong with the beautiful and memorable Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Beethoven’s deep and lovely 9th Symphony, Chopin’s luscious piano compositions, or simply everything Mozart. But there is one violin concerto that speaks to the heart of all that is the best of humanity; a piece that seems to celebrate life itself. Its lyric themes, rich orchestration and hearkening of Russian folksongs leave one breathless. It is Peter IIyich Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major.

The only violin concerto Tchaikovsky wrote, and one of the best known of all violin concertos, it was composed in 1878 and first performed in Vienna in 1881. The orchestra includes two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.

Let’s be honest — we could all use a little Mister Rogers in our lives right now. Grab your children and gather around to watch this heartwarming animated short film version of Aimee Reid’s book, chronicling the childhood of the young Fred Rogers. Especially relevant to children and parents today, it opens with young Freddie forced to stay inside due to an illness. He has all sorts of feelings about this that he wants to express — anger, loneliness, fear, isolation, frustration — familiar emotions that children may be experiencing now when cooped up at home due to the coronavirus. When he experienced fear, his mother reminded him to “look for the helpers” — good advice for all of us during these uncertain times.

Narrated by Bronson Pinchot and accompanied by a soothing piano soundtrack, this film can be an effective vehicle for jumpstarting discussions of childhood feelings and emotions and how to express them. Children see that young Freddie learned to express his feelings creatively through the use of puppets and playing the piano — and channeled this into what came to be a career helping children understand their feelings and their place in the world while encouraging them to spread kindness.

Special to GoColumbia

This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Richland Library boredom busters: Recommendations for managing children and teen emotions."