While some stress is normal and even healthy, children today seem to encounter many stressful life events at earlier ages. Stress shows itself in children by complaints about stomachaches, being nervous, trouble sleeping, anger flares, and infections.
Stress is a life event or situation that causes imbalance in an individual’s life. An unhealthy response to stress occurs when the demands of the stressor exceed an individual’s coping ability. Often stress results from something that is beyond our control. Control has a great deal to do with levels of stress. Daily and life challenges can be expected. For example, most children will attend school and will have to go through many transitions. Most adolescents will have to grapple with their sense of identity to determine where they “fit.” Being afraid of the dark and feeling peer pressure are predictable stressors. Other stressors are not as predictable. Disruptions to what is considered normal for the child cause problems with stress. Small amounts of stress, as experienced before a test or when meeting new people, are necessary to present challenges for greater learning. Simple stress experienced when learning a new skill or playing an exciting game raise a person’s level of excitement or pressure above the normal level. Technology and children are inseparable. Gadgets and games provide hours upon hours of entertainment. And that’s the problem. Too much repetition causes repetitive stress.

What is a stress distress?

Problems begin when ordinary stress becomes too much stress or distress. There are a variety of reasons for children to feel stress. Death, divorce, remarriage, moving, long illness, abuse, family or community violence, natural disaster, fear of failure, and cultural conflict may each heighten stress. Under stress, the heart rate and breathing are at a higher speed and muscles are tense. Multiple stressors worsen the stress level and the length of the stress. Our bodies need relief from stress to reestablish balance.
Reactions to stress vary with the child’s stage of development, ability to cope, the length of time the stressor continues, intensity of the stressor, and the degree of support from family, friends, and community. The two most frequent indicators that children are stressed are change in behaviors and regression of behaviors. Children under stress change their behavior and react by doing things that are not in keeping with their usual style. Behaviors seen in earlier phases of development, such as thumb sucking and regression in toileting, may reappear.

The impact of a stressor depends on a child’s personality, maturity, and style of coping. It is not always obvious, however, when children are feeling overtaxed. Children often have difficulty describing exactly how they feel. Instead of saying “I feel overwhelmed” they might say “my stomach hurts.” When some children are stressed they cry, become aggressive, talk back or become irritable. Others may behave well but become nervous, fearful, or panicky.
Stress can affect children’s physical health as well. Asthma, hay fever, migraine headache and gastrointestinal illnesses like colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and peptic ulcer can be exacerbated by stressful situations.
A child’s risk of developing is related to the seriousness of the trauma, whether the trauma is repeated, the child’s proximity to the trauma, and his/her relationship to the victim(s).
Following the trauma, children may initially show agitated or confused behavior. They also may show intense fear, helplessness, anger, sadness, horror or denial. Children who experience repeated trauma may develop a kind of emotional numbing to deaden or block the pain and trauma. This is called dissociation. Children avoid situations or places that remind them of the trauma. They may also become less responsive emotionally, depressed, withdrawn, and more detached from their feelings.

Stress reaction in children

Children are the most vulnerable population. Times of disaster and trauma increase their vulnerability. Recognizing children’s symptoms of stress is not easy. Some stress reactions may include the following:
• Sleep disorders
• Persistent thoughts of trauma
• Belief that another bad event will occur
• Conduct disturbances
• Hyperalertness
• Avoidance of stimulus or similar vents, i.e., boating, swimming, baths, traveling
• Moving
• Regression, thumb sucking
• Dependent behaviors
• Time distortion
• Obsession about the event
• Feeling vulnerable
• Excessive attachment behaviors

How can parents help?

Parents can help their children learn to keep the harmful effects of stress at a minimum.
Proper rest and good nutrition can help increase your child’s coping skills, as can good parenting. Make time for your child each day. Whether he or she needs to talk or just be in the same room with you, make yourself available. Even as your child gets older, this “quality time” is important. It’s really hard for some people to come home after work, get down on the floor, and play with their kids or just talk to them about their day - especially if they’ve had a stressful day themselves. But by showing interest in your child’s life, regardless of your child’s age, you’re showing your child that he or she is important to you.

  1. Parents should monitor their own stress levels. In studies on families who have experienced traumatic circumstances such as earthquakes or war, the best predictor of children’s coping is how well their parents cope. Parents need to be particularly aware of when their own stress levels contribute to marital conflict. Frequent fighting between parents is unsettling for children.
  2. Keep communication lines open. Kids feel better about themselves when they have a good relationship with their parents.
  3. Children who do not have close friendships are at risk for developing stress- related difficulties, parents should encourage friendships by scheduling play dates, sleepovers, and other fun activities.
  4. Parents need to shape daily schedules with their child’s temperament in mind. Although children thrive in familiar, predictable environments with established routines and clear safe boundaries, their tolerance for stimulation varies.
  5. No matter how busy their schedule, children of all ages need time to play and relax. Children use play to learn about their world, explore ideas and soothe themselves.

No matter what your screaming toddler might want to think, children live in an adult’s world. More to the point, they live in an adult sized world. And in such a world their little bodies are forced to constantly compensate for the size difference. Add to that a little addiction to technology and pain is just waiting to happen.
Once just pushed aside as growing pains, more and more children are being diagnosed with repetitive stress injuries. The key culprits behind this are usually using adult sized equipment (like computers), carrying to much weight (like overloaded backpacks) and spending to much time with gadgets (like video games and cell phones).
It is a fact of life that children use computers. Between the home and the classroom kids are starting computer use younger and younger.
And since most of the computers they use are actually sized for the adult user they hold a poor posture and have to strain their hands and wrists to use the adult size keyboard
Sources: Back to School, AACAP, Kids Health

Related Posts