World's first health resort for stressed out toddlers opens in Germany

London, May 2 (ANI): Youngsters in Germany are being adversely affected by the worries about money, jobs and the recession, that concerns their parents.

But the strain has become too much to bear for youngsters in Germany, resulting in the first kindergarten for stressed-out under-fives.

Toddlers as young as three chill out with massages, foot-baths and by walking through wet grass without shoes and socks.

Experts formulated the programme in conjunction with the Kneipp Association, the country's largest non-commercial health organisation in Germany, which is dedicated to the prevention of diseases through a healthy lifestyle.

It comes as childcare professionals warn that youngsters are taking on board the worries of recession, money and security at an age when they cannot understand what the words mean, let alone spell them.

Driven into anxiety by the worries of their parents, the stressed-out toddlers are having the best years of their lives blighted by concerns that should only be handled by adults.

At the kindergarten in Stuttgart where the programme is being pioneered, children have increased their resistance to catching the common cold by 60 percent in a few short weeks of doing the anti-stress exercises.

German health insurance schemes and the Kneipp Association fund the courses.

Sylvia Gross, 49, said being subjected to hectic timetables also increases children's stress levels.

"Much is required from children today. They rush from one appointment to the next without barely a chance to breathe," the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

"They occasionally need some time out in order to come down again. The things we do here have a curative, relaxing effect upon them. The children themselves are curious, they find the therapies exciting," she added.

Therapies include stepping in and out of tubs filled with cool water and the children being encouraged to massage one another with soft brushes, rope skipping and simply lying quietly while thinking of their favourite things. (ANI)