Stress Awareness

Articles

Apr 2

During the month of April, we aim to raise awareness about stress and the negative effect it can have on a person. As we get older, our responsibilities typically increase and it is understandable that stress comes as well. But children can also feel stressed because of the commitments they balance between school, extracurricular activities, or relationships. Especially as kids start to return to school, additional stressors can be present with wearing masks, social distancing, and so many other concerns that didn’t exist previously. Adults may know coping mechanisms and tools they can use to manage their stress, but children likely do not. It is important to be able to recognize the signs of stress in children and what you can do to help.

How to Recognize Stress in Children

Sudden Pain

One way stress might present itself in children is by sudden and unexplained pain such as headaches or stomachaches. If your child has been eating normally and staying hydrated, sudden headaches or stomachaches may be due to high stress levels and they may not be able to verbalize it. These physical signs can help you identify that there is an issue which may require your help to resolve.

Fatigue or Sleeplessness

Stress can often disrupt our sleep patterns and cause us to either have trouble sleeping or have trouble staying awake. If your child normally will wake easily in the morning for school and suddenly begins to have trouble waking up on time, stress may be the culprit. On the other hand, when children are stressed they may want to stay up late and have trouble falling asleep at night.

Changes to Eating Habits

Similar to sleep patterns, eating habits can also be affected by stress. Some children will suddenly start eating much more and snacking more often due to increased stress. Conversely, some children will lose their appetite and have trouble eating regularly or enough.

Lashing Out

Children may not have the coping skills to deal with their stress in a healthy way, let alone be able to describe what they are experiencing. At times, behavioral issues will become apparent through mood swings, irritability, or angry outbursts.

Becoming Withdrawn

When a child is unable to deal with their stress in a healthy way, a coping mechanism they may employ is to withdraw from social interactions and normal activity. If your child is struggling with stress, they may appear to find no enjoyment in the things they once enjoyed such as spending time with friends or engaging in extracurricular activities.

Conversation

One way to determine if stress is present in your child’s life is to start a conversation. Particularly if you have noticed any changes in their typical behavior, it may be a good time to talk to your child about what stress is, what it means to feel stressed, and how you can deal with it.

How Parents or Caregivers Can Help

No matter the cause, stress can be the first issue leading to other things like increased anxiety, depression, aggression, and undesired coping strategies. As parents, you want to help in any way you can. There are many ways you can intervene when your child is stressed to help them manage their problems and work toward a state of relaxation again.

Activities for Relaxation

Mindfulness

There are many different ways to achieve a state of relaxation and calm. Kids can practice mindfulness and meditation to help them manage stress. Start by teaching them how to find a comfortable seat or position, think about a positive affirmation, close their eyes, breathe deeply, repeat the affirmation, and return to the affirmation any time the mind wanders. This practice for only ten minutes per day can help your child learn to keep their mind calm in a state of stress.

Aerobic Exercise

When we get our blood moving, the benefit to our mental health is great. Kids can get in the habit of doing things like jump rope, ride their bike, swim, or take a walk with the family to help them get moving. Aerobic exercise is an effective way to reduce stress and kids often have lots of ideas of how they want to get active.

Yoga

Combining physical exercise and meditation, yoga is a wonderful tool to reduce stress and increase mindfulness. Even when practicing early in the morning to start the day or in the evening before going to bed, the benefits apply in any case. Learn yoga poses or follow along with our OT yoga poses to get your practice started at home.

Awareness

Kids can learn to recognize the signs of stress and know when to implement a management strategy. The more children understand how stress can affect you, your brain, your emotion, your behavior, and more, the easier it will be for them to recognize it.

Find Nature

As children turn to their devices and screens more and more, it is important to emphasize the importance of nature and the outdoors. Fresh air and sunshine can boost your mood and help reduce feelings of stress. Instead of playing a game on a tablet or watching a show, spending a few hours outside in nature can help children who feel overstimulated.

The most important thing to remember is that there are many ways to manage and cope with stress. Unfortunately as we get older, stress is something we will encounter and we need to understand the best ways we can deal with it.

Get more great resources and ways to help your child manage stress in our free activities and articles! Learn about what occupational, physical, or speech therapists recommend for developmental activities you can do at home.