Stress in children...

Why it happens!

by Tania Hackner

One of the main reasons for stress in children is the demands made on their time and potential.  Apart from academics, most parents today push their children into a plethora of extracurricular activities.  Most kids nowadays have crammed schedules with almost every minute accounted for and barely any time for relaxation or play.

Family plays the most important role in a child’s life.  Children are especially sensitive to even the most minor changes in the behaviour of family members towards each other.  If parents argue or adolescent siblings are in a bad mood, a child will perceive it almost immediately.  Sibling rivalry, if it gets out of hand, will play on a child’s mind almost all the time in the same way that adults obsessively think of their worries.  Constant criticism of a child’s shortcomings can lead to resentment and fear.  If there is a breakdown or lack of communication between parent and child, the latter tends to feel unloved, unwanted and unimportant.  An unstable home environment shatters a child’s sense of security as well as his self-confidence in the long run.

Any kind trauma, like the death of a loved one, a natural disaster, sexual or emotional abuse, violence, alcoholism or drug use by a member of the household, can have a detrimental effect on any human being’s state of mind.  Children are especially susceptible.  A child’s inability to cope with the extreme emotions born of tragedy can lead to various stress-related psycho-social disorders.

One of the unusual sources of stress in children is other children.  Bullying and insensitive remarks from school or play mates can cause low self-esteem.  Peer pressure can result in a state of conflict and make a child feel embarrassed about his clothes and other possessions, his intellect, or the way he looks.

Pressure to excel leads to tremendous stress in children.  The frustration over not being able to meet expectations can lead a child to believe that he is stupid or worthless.