CHILDREN COPING WITH STRESS
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.
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.
Typically, preschoolers lack self-control, have no sense of time, act independently, are curious, may wet the bed, have changes in eating habits, have difficulty with sleep or speech, and cannot tell adults how they are feeling.
Preschoolers under stress each react differently. Some behaviors may include irritability, anxiety, uncontrollable crying, trembling with fright, eating or sleep problems. Toddlers may regress to infant behaviors, feel angry and not understand their feelings, fear being alone or without their parent, withdraw, bite, or be sensitive to sudden or loud noises. Feelings of sadness or anger may build inside of them. They may become aggressive or angry, have nightmares, or be accident prone.
Just as children’s reactions are each different, so are their coping strategies. Children can cope through tears or tantrums or by retreating from unpleasant situations.
during child development. The first level is a normal development crisis, where a child may feel stress due to a change. For example, a child experiencing the birth of a sibling may feel normal stresses. The second form of crisis is situational, which creates stress because of feelings of loss or fear. This type of stress can occur with a death of a relative or the divorce of parents. The last level is high risk, and this level of stress can aid in the development of emotional disorders and cause greater than usual stress. When a child within this age range displays behaviors such as anxiety, impulsiveness, refusal to follow directions, and/or aggressive outbursts, compared to those of his or her healthy, developed counterparts, these are abnormal behaviors and ...
“Stress has become such an ingrained part of our vocabulary and daily existence, that it is difficult to believe that our current use of the term originated only a little more than 50 years ago….” (Paul J. Rosch, M.D.) The research of stress is a really young area of psychology. They find out new thing about it every day along with the development of technology.
Studies about early childhood development indicate that the brain develops in response to experiences with caregivers, family and the community, and that its development is directly linked to the quality and quantity of those experiences. Meeting a child’s needs during these early stages creates emotional stability and security that is needed for healthy brain development. Repeated exposure to stressful events can affect the brain’s stress response, making it more reactive and less adaptive. With time a child may react as if danger is always present in their environment regardless of what the presenting situation actually
People are exposed to numerous amounts of positive and negative events throughout their lifetime. No one is given a life that is perfect or free from difficulty. Whether it is a death in the family, chronic illness, house fire, automobile accident, or any other type of impacting event, stressors are bound to occur throughout one’s life. Since people are constantly exposed to stressors in life, it is essential that one is able to adequately cope. There are three types of responses to stress. The first is the positive stress response, which is a normal and brief response to stress and is characterized by a mild increase in heart rate (“Toxic Stress,” 2017). One example of a positive stress response could be the slight apprehension one feels before
Everyone has different things that cause stress for them. It is an effect of day to day life and some have more than others. How does stress affect your life? Depending on your stress, rather it be acute stress, episodic stress, or chronic stress. Acute stress comes from recent happening and events that have happened recently, or are soon expected. According to “The Stress Solution” by Lyle H. Miller, PhD, and Alma Dell Smith, PhD, “acute stress causes: emotional distress, muscular problems, sickness of stomach, rapid heartbeat, and/or sweaty palms.” This kind of stress can build up on anyone and dealt with easily.
Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. When you sense danger—whether it’s real or imagined—the body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight-or-freeze” reaction, or the stress response.
Within this population, children are most vulnerable. The “cycle of stress” can create a circular continuum of stress from one generation to the next in the A.A. community (Robinson, 2015). Throughout the lifespan, stress can change or
Stress can affect anyone at anytime and anyplace. What’s important to know is that stress can actually be good for you. It is only when stress reaches unimaginable levels that it hinders your progress and makes you feel frustrated and sad. When confronted with a stressful situation the human body retreats to its survival mode, known as the “fight or flight response”. It causes the release of steroids and adrenaline from various glands in the body. These hormones send our respiratory, cardio-vascular, abdominal, endocrine and nervous systems into overdrive.
These children often show signs of emotional distress and immature behavior at a very young age. These symptoms might affect thei...
When working with kids, it is important to now how to deal with stress. Stress is one of the most common reasons of why harmful things can happen, either to the kid or the person in charge at daycare.
Stress is a reaction or a response to stimulus to any kind of demand or threat. In stressful events the body's defenses kick into high gear in an automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction, causing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to spread though bloodstream in to body causing several physical symptoms.
Stress is “the body’s reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental, or emotional adjustment or response.” Many people realize that stress has a great impact on psychological health; however, they do not realize that physical health can be compromised as well. When the body is put under stress, physiological changes take place, such as increased heart rate or blood pressure. Many individuals do not know the extent to which stress can impact their bodies because they cannot see the changes taking place. If stress is prolonged, physical symptoms may begin to arise. These symptoms are real; however, they may or may not be due to some sort of physical disorder. Stress-induced anxiety may begin to form within the individual because of a constant fear that they have a serious medical condition. The cycle will repeat itself with potentially worsening symptoms.
Stressful events are apart of childhood but when stress becomes overwhelming, this can lead to psychological problems.
Some causes of stress can be life changes, work, financial problems, relationship difficulties, and family.
Stress is an emotion that is caused by worries or problems in your life. It can builds up when you have a lot on your plate. Day to day living can be stressful for some. Many families have some type of problem whether it be financial struggles or other family issues. Parents have a great responsibility of working to take care of bills and supporting a family. Sometimes this is not an easy task. The bills