Can Kids Get Stressed?

Can kids get stressed? Absolutely! When a person, in this case a child, is overwhelmed by pressures and stress that they are not able to communicate, it limits their creativity and inhibits their learning abilities and growing process. Can kids get stressed? With the high demand of society to adults, so are children who are burdened with the same amount of pressure for them to succeed. In this article, you’ll learn the answer to your question, can kids get stressed?

Can Kids Get Stressed: Korean Kids

Can kids get stressed? If we were to get down to the nitty gritty of stress placed upon a child, we can look to two examples of a day in the life of young students from Korea and Sweden. Children in Korea start their long, academic day by attending school from early in the morning to late afternoon. When they are done with their regular school day, many of these young children head off to English classes which could last anywhere from 2-4 hours.

They usually get home pretty late in the evening and have just enough time to sit down for a meal. When they are done, they head to their rooms to crack open books, do homework that needs to be submitted the next day, taking up about 2.5 more hours of their time. They usually go to bed late into the night and wake up early the next morning to do the same thing over again. Because of the high expectations from them, they are often tired and burnt out by the end of the week.

Swedish Kids

On the other hand, young students in Sweden go to school a little later in the morning as compared to their Korean counterparts, they leave school earlier, giving them time to spend with their families doing leisurely activities with no demands of homework to be done. The picture is painted pretty clearly and we get a good idea of where balance needs to be made.

Parental Problems

Other times stress in children can be intensified by what is happening inside of the family home. Perhaps they overhear the troubles of the family, hearing arguments and knowing about financial difficulties that the family is going through. How can we help our children from being overwhelmed my problems that they should have no business knowing?

Can kids get stressed? Children are perceptive human beings no matter how small they are. They pick up on the anxiety of the parents and begin to imbibe the worries of their caregivers. Be mindful about what you discuss with your children or in front of your children and most especially do not let on about problems that they have no business knowing. Another cause for a child stress could be what is happening around our community or in the world. Children are not usually able to express their emotions with words, therefore whatever bad news they hear on the television is absorbed and pondered on in silence. This could be a cause for unmerited fear and stress.

Life Demands

Make sure that they are not present for any programs on television that is only suitable for adult understanding. If it is absolutely necessary for a child to listen to the news be sure that you are there with them so that you can turn to them and explain what is going on.

Aside from the everyday stress of the demands of academics and peers be aware of complicating factors that could exacerbate stress in the child. Some of these factors could be an illness in the family, the death of a loved one, or separation and divorce of their parents.  These events magnify stress factors of everyday life making it more confounding for a child to comprehend. Avoid having to make the child choose between one parent or another in the event of a separation or divorce. As tempting as it may be, do not expose your children to negative comments about your estranged spouse.

Develop a Relationship

Develop a relationship with your child that gives your child the confidence to approach you at any given time, especially when they feel pressured or stressed by anything. Never undermine what is troubling your child by dismissing what they are feeling. Build in them a confidence in you so that they approach you when they feel a situation is oppressing them.

Symptoms

While it is not always easy to detect when children are under stress there are telltale signs and stress symptoms that will tell you that your child is under stress. These telltale signs could be changes in their sleep patterns or eating habits. Children under stress could display mood swings or they could act out through emotional outbursts. Children under stress can also have physical manifestations of the effects of stress in the form of headaches stomach aches or bedwetting.

When a child is under pressure they have a more difficult time concentrating and learning. Another indication of stress in a child is social withdrawal. A usually outgoing child, if they start to spend time more by themselves, could possibly be undergoing some sort of stress that brings about confusion. Other indications of stress and younger children could be thumb sucking or bedwetting.

Putting It All Together

Can kids get stressed? To help your child reduce stress in their young lives make sure that you make yourself available for them. Create an atmosphere of confidence amongst the family where children can approach parents for anything and everything that they may be anxious or worried about. Listen to them, talk to them, and help them vocalize and communicate feelings that are within them. Sometimes just the mere presence of an available and open minded parent is enough to calm the child.

Quality time is very important to building relationship that is based on confidence and trust. If our children know that they can approach us with confidence, they will be able to handle stress factors much better in their present lives and more importantly, as they mature. As parents we need to express genuine interest in the goings on in our children’s lives in order for them to understand that they can rely on you.