Is your child stressed? Check these signs.

Children also get stressed

The challenges that have come with the corona virus are not only being experienced by adult but children are not spared too. Children have been suffering silently without parents’ knowledge.

Childhood stress can be present in any setting that requires the child to adapt or change. Stress may be caused by positive changes, such as starting a new activity, but it is most commonly linked with negative changes such as illness or death in the family.

You can help your child by learning to recognize the signs of stress and teaching your child healthy ways to deal with it.

Stress may be a response to a negative change in a child’s life. In small amounts, stress can be good. But, excessive stress can affect the way a child thinks, acts, and feels.

Children learn how to respond to stress as they grow and develop. Many stressful events that an adult can manage will cause stress in a child. As a result, even small changes can impact a child’s feelings of safety and security.

Pain, injury, illness, and other changes are stressors for children. Stressors may include:

• Worrying about schoolwork or grades
• Juggling responsibilities, such as school and work or sports
• Problems with friends, bullying, or peer group pressures
• Changing schools, moving, or dealing with housing problems or homelessness
• Having negative thoughts about themselves
• Going through body changes, in both boys and girls
• Seeing parents go through a divorce or separation
• Money problems in the family
• Living in an unsafe home or neighborhood

SIGNS OF UNRESOLVED STRESS IN CHILDREN

Children may not recognize that they are stressed. New or worsening symptoms may lead parents to suspect an increased stress level is present.

Physical symptoms can include:

• Decreased appetite, other changes in eating habits
• Headache
• New or recurrent bedwetting
• Nightmares
• Sleep disturbances
• Upset stomach or vague stomach pain
• Other physical symptoms with no physical illness

Emotional or behavioral symptoms may include:

• Anxiety, worry
• Not able to relax
• New or recurring fears (fear of the dark, fear of being alone, fear of strangers)
• Clinging, unwilling to let you out of sight
• Anger, crying, whining
• Not able to control emotions
• Aggressive or stubborn behavior
• Going back to behaviors present at a younger age
• Doesn’t want to participate in family or school activities

HOW PARENTS CAN HELP

Parents can help children respond to stress in healthy ways. Following are some tips:

• Provide a safe, secure, and dependable home.
• Family routines can be comforting. Having a family dinner or movie night can help relieve or prevent stress.
• Be a role model. The child looks to you as a model for healthy behavior. Do your best to keep your own stress under control and manage it in healthy ways.
• Be careful about which television programs, books, and games that young children watch, read, and play. News broadcasts and violent shows or games can produce fears and anxiety.
• Keep your child informed of anticipated changes such as in jobs or moving.
• Spend calm, relaxed time with your children.
• Learn to listen. Listen to your child without being critical or trying to solve the problem right away. Instead work with your child to help them understand and solve what is upsetting to them.
• Build your child’s feelings of self-worth. Use encouragement and affection. Use rewards,to involve your child in activities where they can succeed.
• Allow the child opportunities to make choices and have some control in their life. The more your child feels they have control over a situation, the better their response to stress will be.
• Encourage physical activity.
• Recognize signs of unresolved stress in your child.
• Seek help or advice from a health care provider, counselor, or therapist when signs of stress do not decrease or disappear.

WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR

Talk to your child’s provider if your child:

• Is becoming withdrawn, more unhappy, or depressed
• Is having problems in school or interacting with friends or family
• Is unable to control their behavior or anger

We can all help our children on how to cope with stress….also visit other recent posts below.

Signs of mental illness in children

It’s important to recognize and treat mental illnesses in children early on. Once mental illness develops, it becomes a regular part of your child’s behavior. This makes it more difficult to treat.

But it’s not always easy to know when your child has a serious problem. Everyday stresses can cause changes in your child’s behavior. For example, getting a new brother or sister or going to a new school may cause a child to temporarily act out. Warning signs that it might be a more serious problem include

• Problems in more than one setting (at school, at home, with peers)
• Changes in appetite or sleep
• Social withdrawal or fear of things he or she did not used to be not afraid of
• Returning to behaviors more common in younger children, such as bedwetting
• Signs of being upset, such as sadness or tearfulness
• Signs of self-destructive behavior, such as head-banging or suddenly getting hurt often
• Repeated thoughts of death

To diagnose mental health problems, the doctor or mental health specialist looks at your child’s signs and symptoms, medical history, and family history. Treatments include medicines and talk therapy.

Take action when you can make a difference. See stress and discipline in children

Children and mental health

It’s important to recognize and treat mental illnesses in children early on. Once mental illness develops, it becomes a regular part of your child’s behavior. This makes it more difficult to treat.

But it’s not always easy to know when your child has a serious problem. Everyday stresses can cause changes in your child’s behavior. For example, getting a new brother or sister or going to a new school may cause a child to temporarily act out. Warning signs that it might be a more serious problem include

• Problems in more than one setting (at school, at home, with peers)
• Changes in appetite or sleep
• Social withdrawal or fear of things he or she did not used to be not afraid of
• Returning to behaviors more common in younger children, such as bedwetting
• Signs of being upset, such as sadness or tearfulness
• Signs of self-destructive behavior, such as head-banging or suddenly getting hurt often
• Repeated thoughts of death

To diagnose mental health problems, the doctor or mental health specialist looks at your child’s signs and symptoms, medical history, and family history. Treatments include medicines and talk therapy.

Take action when you can make a difference. Also read stress in Children and discipline in children.

How to know when your child is stressed

Children also get stressed

The challenges that have come with the corona virus are not only being experienced by adult but children are not spared too. Children have been suffering silently without parents’ knowledge.

Childhood stress can be present in any setting that requires the child to adapt or change. Stress may be caused by positive changes, such as starting a new activity, but it is most commonly linked with negative changes such as illness or death in the family.

You can help your child by learning to recognize the signs of stress and teaching your child healthy ways to deal with it.

Stress may be a response to a negative change in a child’s life. In small amounts, stress can be good. But, excessive stress can affect the way a child thinks, acts, and feels.

Children learn how to respond to stress as they grow and develop. Many stressful events that an adult can manage will cause stress in a child. As a result, even small changes can impact a child’s feelings of safety and security.

Pain, injury, illness, and other changes are stressors for children. Stressors may include:

• Worrying about schoolwork or grades
• Juggling responsibilities, such as school and work or sports
• Problems with friends, bullying, or peer group pressures
• Changing schools, moving, or dealing with housing problems or homelessness
• Having negative thoughts about themselves
• Going through body changes, in both boys and girls
• Seeing parents go through a divorce or separation
• Money problems in the family
• Living in an unsafe home or neighborhood

SIGNS OF UNRESOLVED STRESS IN CHILDREN

Children may not recognize that they are stressed. New or worsening symptoms may lead parents to suspect an increased stress level is present.

Physical symptoms can include:

• Decreased appetite, other changes in eating habits
• Headache
• New or recurrent bedwetting
• Nightmares
• Sleep disturbances
• Upset stomach or vague stomach pain
• Other physical symptoms with no physical illness

Emotional or behavioral symptoms may include:

• Anxiety, worry
• Not able to relax
• New or recurring fears (fear of the dark, fear of being alone, fear of strangers)
• Clinging, unwilling to let you out of sight
• Anger, crying, whining
• Not able to control emotions
• Aggressive or stubborn behavior
• Going back to behaviors present at a younger age
• Doesn’t want to participate in family or school activities

HOW PARENTS CAN HELP

Parents can help children respond to stress in healthy ways. Following are some tips:

• Provide a safe, secure, and dependable home.
• Family routines can be comforting. Having a family dinner or movie night can help relieve or prevent stress.
• Be a role model. The child looks to you as a model for healthy behavior. Do your best to keep your own stress under control and manage it in healthy ways.
• Be careful about which television programs, books, and games that young children watch, read, and play. News broadcasts and violent shows or games can produce fears and anxiety.
• Keep your child informed of anticipated changes such as in jobs or moving.
• Spend calm, relaxed time with your children.
• Learn to listen. Listen to your child without being critical or trying to solve the problem right away. Instead work with your child to help them understand and solve what is upsetting to them.
• Build your child’s feelings of self-worth. Use encouragement and affection. Use rewards,to involve your child in activities where they can succeed.
• Allow the child opportunities to make choices and have some control in their life. The more your child feels they have control over a situation, the better their response to stress will be.
• Encourage physical activity.
• Recognize signs of unresolved stress in your child.
• Seek help or advice from a health care provider, counselor, or therapist when signs of stress do not decrease or disappear.

WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR

Talk to your child’s provider if your child:

• Is becoming withdrawn, more unhappy, or depressed
• Is having problems in school or interacting with friends or family
• Is unable to control their behavior or anger

We can all help our children on how to cope with stress….also visit other posts here