Kids And Stress

Children feel stress just as much as adults. Many children have to cope with family disputes, divorce, constant changes in schools, neighborhoods and child care arrangements, peer pressure, and sometimes even violence in their homes or communities.

These situations can all lead to a build-up of emotions that can make children feel overwrought. The impact of stress on a child depends on their personality, maturity, and style of coping. However, it is not always obvious when children are feeling stressed out. Children often have difficulty describing what is on their mind and how they feel. For example, they might say: “my stomach hurts” as a way of trying to get across how overwhelmed they actually feel. Other signs that indicate stress in a child are: crying, aggressiveness, back chat, or becoming irritable. Others may behave well but become nervous, fearful, or panicky.

A child’s physical health can also be affected by stress. Asthma, migraines, hay fever, and gastrointestinal illnesses such as colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and peptic ulcer can be triggered by stressful situations.

Advice to Parents:

There are a number of ways parents can help their children to keep the negative effects of stress as low as possible:

• Parents should monitor their own stress levels. Studies on families who have experienced traumatic circumstances, such as earthquakes or war, have found that the best predictor of how a child copes with stress is how well their parents cope. Children who have to endure frequent fighting between their parents will become more and more unsettled, so it is important parents keep particularly aware of their own stress levels.
  
  
• Children who do not have close friendships are at risk for developing stress- related difficulties, therefore parents need to encourage and help build friendships by scheduling sleepovers, play times and other fun activities.
  
  
• Ensure you are open and honest with your kids. Kids who generally have a good and open relationship with their parents feel better about themselves.
  
  
• Children of all ages need play-time, but also time to relax – no matter how busy their schedule. Playing can help kids to let out their feelings and emotions that they may find trying to explain in words, as well as building up self-esteem.
  
  
• Parents need to shape daily schedules with their child's temperament in mind. Although children may thrive in familiar, predictable environments with established routines, their tolerance for stimulation can vary.