Coin Collecting For Kids With Anxiety: The Benefits Of This Coping Tool
Did you know anxiety affects one in eight children? As a parent of a child who is trying to forge ahead with life while coping with an anxiety disorder, you know that providing coping tools is one way for them to focus past anxiety when it strikes. Crafts and exercise are common coping tools but have you considered a coin collection for your child as an additional tool? Coin collecting provides both therapeutic and educational benefits for your child. These are the three main points you need to know about how to get started collecting, and how coins can enrich their life.
Starting A Collection
One of the great things about coin collecting is you don't need a lot of money to get started. If you don't want to purchase a coin album at the beginning until you know your child is going to stick with it, a clean storage box lined with acid-free tissue paper stops the coins from tarnishing.
If you have an existing coin collection, sharing the non-valuable ones with your child builds a common bond in this interesting hobby. If you don't have a coin collection, have a look through your change drawer and pull out all the quarter dollars that have a state name printed on them. Trying to collect one coin from each state is a great way you can get your child quickly interested.
Additionally, purchase a book about coin collecting from a bookstore so they can read up on how best to care for their coins, how valuable coins can be, and what to look out for when purchasing coins for their collection.
Therapeutic Benefits Of Coin Collecting
A child with anxiety has times when they do not want to go outside and interact with other people because of the panic and emotional stress these interactions bring. As a coping tool, coin collecting is perfect because:
- This hobby can be done online. All you need to contact a dealer is a computer, a tablet, or a smartphone. Many online coin dealers have virtual stores showcasing the range of coins they have available for sale. While your child may not be able to afford the coins right away, the opportunity to browse the collection and read up about them takes their focus off their current anxiety episode. The online stores are available to them 24/7.
- Looking at a physical collection or an online store shifts your child's focus from the anxiety they are experiencing to a hobby that is pleasing to them. This, in turn, allows the stress to decrease in the child and for them to regain control of their thought patterns.
- Collecting is a hobby that can be done alone by your child, or shared with immediate family if they wish. Because it is not a team sport, there is no pressure on your child, so there is no chance of performance anxiety.
Another great thing about starting a coin collection is your child can learn while they are checking out all the different types of coins available.
Educational Benefits Of Coin Collecting
While your child is focusing on their coin collections, you can use it to your advantage as an educational tool too. For example, some coins are worth a lot more than their original face value. Why is that? Teach your child how to safely research the answer to this question. They can also look into the different presidents or other people who appear on coins to find out more about their background and why they were selected to appear on the currency.
The US Mint has a section of their website dedicated to children, and it contains games and coin news your child will find interesting. There is even a collection club so kids are encouraged to increase their collections while they are learning fun new facts about different coins.
A coin collection is a great way to divert the focus of your child when their anxiety flares to higher levels. This coping tool will help them get through each episode, and provides them with a long-term hobby that may even become valuable financially to them when they are older. To get started, you can find coin dealers online if you go to sites like the one linked to here.
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