Everyone experiences stress; it is a mechanism of the body to handle and adapt to challenging situations. Sometimes, children tend to suffer from stress than adults.

Sometimes, situations that sound normal to adults can be very intense for a child. As per one study Children that are vulnerable to handle “Stress/Anxiety” are more susceptible to Depression. Their sense of self-worth is intimately tied to the expectations posed by the adults around them, such as teachers and parents, but their peers can also easily influence it. If your child’s esteem takes a deep hit, they will find it challenging to cope with the situation.

Stress relief for kids is of the most importance. This blog post will help you to understand the source of stress in children, its symptoms, and solutions.

Causes of Stress in Kids

There are several reasons children could face in their day-to-day lives. Some of them are:

1. Stress in School Kids spend half of their waking hours at school, where they have to juggle academic responsibilities along with the tuitions , sports, and extra circular activities, which leaves them exhausted. Additionally, they might feel stress from trying to fit in a friend’s circle. Change of school or class, circle of friends, homework, getting bullied, inability to understand any subject, etc can trigger this stress syndrome, more in some children than others.

2. Stress Due to Family Issues Children mainly used to look at their parents for support and guidance. Stress can be caused by problems at home, such as separation and spousal fights, corporal punishment, economic issues, dealing with mental disorders in the caretakers, and some other issues. Children are highly susceptible to their parent’s emotional levels, so if parents are anxious, children will undoubtedly pick up on it.

3. Stress Due to Environment or Media It is very common for the children to get anxious about the things which they usually used to see on TV’s, such as news of terrorist attacks, disasters, and rising tensions in the world. Usually, kids sometimes even react to extreme violence, horror in films, and gore, which can inflict an irrational fear of strange people, scary monsters, or darkness. Having online lives could even lead to cyberbullying by strangers or peers, which can also cause severe emotional distress.

4. Other Causes Children can also get stressed when people close to them worry for any reason; unexpected social events etc.

Symptoms of Stress in children:

Physical symptoms can include changes in eating habits, headaches, sleep disturbance, etc. Emotional or behavioural symptoms may include anxiety, worry, not being able to relax, fears, clinging, anger, whining, aggressive or stubborn behaviour, lack of interest in play etc.

What to do?

The first step is to identify and recognise signs of stress so that remedial action can be taken. As a parent, strengthen your child’s mental conditioning by taking baby steps e.g. encourage him or her to share and gradually work on the stress. As parents, you can help children respond to stress in healthy ways. Provide a safe and secure atmosphere. Check for any potential threat from peers or any other person. Spend more time with family. The child feels emotionally strong in a family that bonds well. Keep a watch on the kind of viewing they are having or games they are playing. Create some form of an informal communication channel with your child so that they can share. Listen to them well. Don’t be critical or judgmental. Encourage and appreciate when they share. Seek medical help in case the signs of stress is severe and recurring.