Is Your Child Stressed?

The causes of stress in school-age children are many and varied but include the following (Black, 1996):

• temperament of child (competitive, impatient, aggressive, or hostile);
• cognitive ability of child (either exceptionally high or low);
• over-scheduling (of child, or parent, or both);
• negative social role models (usually peers);
• high-density households and the lack of privacy;
• inadequate play opportunities;
• changes in family structure/composition (birth, death, separation, divorce, newly-blended family);
• pressure to perform (in school, sports, etc.);
• change in school (due to a family move, for example);
• birthday parties and school trips; and,
• catastrophic events.

Children react to stress in various ways, but common reactions to stress include the following:

• impatience;
• aggression;
• hostility; and,
• less mature behaviors.

Parents can reduce the effects of stressful events and help children deal with stress more appropriately through the following mechanisms: (Black, 1996):

• introducing downtime into the child’s schedule;
• increasing opportunities for unstructured play;
• ensuring appropriate levels of academic challenge;
• increasing privacy; and,
• providing opportunities or children to talk about things that are stressing them.

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References

Black, J. and Puckett, M. (1996). The Young Child: Development from Prebirth Through Age Eight (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill.