Children get stressed too

BETWEEN trying to balance work, school, your career and your home affairs, some people find adulthood really stressful. And while most parents may not know it, clinical psychologist Dr Pearnel Bell says that stress is a normal part of the day-to-day life of their children as well. “Stress is the body’s response to demands placed upon it. Both children and adults experience stress. Children experience several demands that involve home, school, and community issues that could predispose them to stress, and as with adults, a child’s response can be mental, emotional or physiological,” Dr Bell explained.She said that the sources of stress can vary — for example, many children nowadays are enrolled in several extracurricular activities, more than they can comfortably cope with.Other children may have been exposed to emotionally draining situations.“Some stressors that a child may face at home could involve forms of abuse or neglect. Children who are repeatedly abused — verbally, sexually or emotionally — can present with multiple stress symptoms, and parents whose parenting style is authoritarian could lead to a child coming under intense stress when trying to engage with such a parent,” Dr Bell underscored.She pointed out that there are multiple other stressors in the home, such as a discordant family life, sibling rivalry, and having to do too many domestic chores.While a child may be well taken care of at home, there is the possibility of stress in an unstable school environment. This can become overwhelming and can significantly impact the child’s performance if not managed well.“At school children could face bullying and extortion from older students; they could be struggling to cope with the amount of schoolwork and homework that they must complete, and then for many students in grades four, six and 11 who have to complete major exams, they experience a lot of stress in and around the time of their exams, and this sometimes presents as an anxiety disorder,” Dr Bell explained.The communities in which children reside can also significantly determine their stress levels.“Stressors in the community involve witnessing violence, for example,” Dr Bell shared.She stressed, however, that parents can help through observation of their children and through appropriate intervention.Below she shares some symptoms that children with stress may present with:• Physical symptoms such as frequent belly and headaches.• Multiple somatic complaints — global pain.• Insomnia or hypersomnia: that is, sleeping too little or too much.• Their eating patterns may change — they either eat more or less.• May complain of feeling tired.• They may present with mental and emotional symptoms of poor concentration• They may present with nervousness, school phobia.• Crying spells and fussiness or irritability, and are easily annoyed.• They may show signs of regression — bedwetting, clinginess, acting younger than their current age.To correct this, Dr Bell says above everything else, children will need the support of their parents. However, professional intervention is very important to help the children regain control of their lives.“Children should be given a balanced life so that they can be children. Parents should parent in such a way that they do not bring on undue stress on their children. Schools should also be aware of work overload, address issues of bullying /extortionist activities in school. Teachers should also measure the amount of schoolwork and homework given, and along with parents they should take the time to take notice of children who seem burdened or are not coping, so that proper intervention may be sought,” Dr Bell advised.