Somerset County VoTech Students Lead Stress Management Workshop For Children

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Students from the UNICEF Club at Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School led a stress management and confidence-building workshop on Aug. 17 at the Hillsborough Library.

The program was aimed at helping young students recognize stress, build confidence and practice healthy coping skills.

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Noor Fatima (co-president), Gabriella Alabi (co-president), Elie Kuan (photographer/secretary), Bhumija Grandhe (vice president), and Joann Thomas, all members of the school's UNICEF chapter, helped put together the program.

Members completed Psychological First Aid certification through Johns Hopkins University and then organized a workshop to bring those lessons to children in the local community.

The session was designed for children of all ages, with most participants under 10, and the activities were adapted so children with different needs and abilities could take part. Children with special needs, including autistic and nonverbal children, participated.

The workshop introduced stress in simple terms as the body's response when something feels difficult, scary, frustrating or overwhelming, according to the group.

Children learned signs of stress, including a faster heartbeat, worry, tense muscles, trouble concentrating, and wanting to avoid a situation.

Rather than relying only on a lecture, the student leaders used games, discussions, role-playing, writing and group activities so younger children could practice the skills themselves, according to the group.

Children practiced several healthy responses to stress, including slow breathing, writing or drawing about problems, identifying possible solutions, talking openly about feelings and asking a trusted adult for help.

The group also used a whiteboard to brainstorm problems children face in their own lives and discuss healthy ways to handle them.

Thomas described one moment when a child jokingly named his sibling as one of his problems while his sister was sitting in the workshop.

The students then used that exchange to help the pair communicate and work through their disagreement, according to Thomas.

Bullying was another major topic during the session.

Through role-playing, children practiced what to do if they were bullied, saw someone else being bullied or noticed another child being excluded.

They also practiced clear communication, safely standing up for themselves and others, including children who are left out and resolving disagreements without making them worse.

According to the UNICEF group, a major goal of the workshop was to show children that their emotions are worth discussing and that asking for help is a useful skill.

The program aimed to turn Psychological First Aid concepts into practical, age-appropriate tools children could use at home, at school and with friends and siblings.

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