ANSWER: The value of meditation and visualization techniques for self-soothing cannot be underestimated. And the use of these tools for relaxation and calming anxieties is well documented.

Life is full of excitement, both positive and negative. The ability to wait for something good in the future often depends on our capacity to delay gratification in the present. Teaching your child methods that allow her to regulate her body arousal will help her stay calm in an argument, develop patience, and generally increase awareness of her body's signals for sleep, rest, food and other physical needs. But the potential benefit of these techniques does not stop there! In fact, self-soothing is the very psychological foundation for growth and development throughout life.

Self-control is essential for success in many areas of life. When we are frustrated, angry or upset it becomes difficult to express ourselves rationally. Very often, marriages fall apart, not because spouses do not love one another, but because they cannot remain emotionally connected through an argument.

The ability to calm ourselves in the face of distress increases our ability to successfully negotiate life's inevitable conflicts and weather disappointment. This increases the likelihood of moving forward during times of stress, rather than becoming overwhelmed with dissatisfaction or despair. Your daughter is not too young to begin to learn how to calm herself in times of stress and adversity!

Simple techniques your daughter might benefit from include:

1) Slow deep breaths. Teach your child to count 10 slow breaths. Use it to help her relax and calm herself, or before falling asleep.

2) Teach your child to tell herself good things when she feels bad about herself. Affirmations repeated 3 times, such as "I like myself" or "I am a good person" , "Things will get better" can offer her some solace when school friends tease or reject her temporarily. 3) Spend 5 minutes, sharing meditation space together. Close your eyes and listen to sounds silently. Let thoughts pass through your mind without needing to do anything about them. Later, if you wish, you can share your experiences with one another.

Keep in mind that our society is reeling in the midst of momentous sensory overload! Rapid advancements in technology have created an unprecedented over-stimulation of our nervous systems. Everything from car alarms, to electronic toys, to people talking on their cell phones in the grocery store have increased the amount of input to be processed through our senses on a daily basis. But our body's capacity to process this stimulation has not changed, leaving us vulnerable to increased anxiety and panic disorders, which are on the rise in this country.

Adults who have little ability to soothe themselves are left with limited capacity for dealing with the predictable tensions of life and even less buffer from modern sensory overload. Meditation and visualization techniques are prescribed for adults suffering from crippling anxiety. But why wait for a problem to present itself?