Is your young child getting tense at home? Family discord or loss is a source of stress. Right? Well, in this article, we will discuss the effects of stress on teenagers, signs of stress, and some effective tips to help your child.
Stress Management Techniques For Children and Teens
Learn how to recognize and treat stress in children and foster mental health. Children today are more anxious than in previous generations. This could be due to the constant use of technology, their busy schedules, or other factors. Today’s lifestyles reflect a changing environment characterized by heightened social pressures and academic demands exacerbated by social media, says Kristin Scott, a Ph.D. psychologist with Children’s Health at UT Southwestern and an Assistant Professor. Although many things can cause stress, these pressures seem more specific to today’s children. We can teach the teens some self-care skills.
What Is The Impact Of Stress On Children And Teenagers?
Stress can affect a child’s lifestyle on many levels. Children can have difficulty in academic performance. Stress can affect their performance in sports.Dr. Scott says that stress can impact biological processes, which includes responding to situations and challenges healthily. This is true for teenagers. This adds an obstacle to their ability to make healthy decisions and cope.
Stress in children can affect their health. Stressed children may gain or lose weight. These children may have a greater risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Early stress management can improve your child’s mental and physical well-being.
What Are The Signs Of Stress Among Children and Teenagers?
Stress can manifest in different ways but that depends on your child. Dr. Scott says knowing your child’s emotions and behaviors is crucial to identify stress. You need to be able to notice any changes in your child’s behavior. We can identify stress in children by:
- Lack of energy
- Pain complaints (e.g., stomach ache, headaches)
- Attention or concentration problems at school or home
- Changes in eating habits
- Sleeping habits: Changes
- Refusing to engage in activities that they like or withdrawing socially
- Stress and depression in adults can manifest as sadness. However, it may appear as anger or irritability in teens and children. Stress can affect your child, and they are not just “angst.”
How Can I Help My Children Manage Stress?
As a family, it’s crucial to identify and reduce stress. Ask your child how they’re doing, and be sure to listen. Assure your child you will always be there for them. “It’s important for parents to monitor their children,” says Dr. Scott. Listening to your child’s emotions and stress is very important.
We can help our child to reduce stress by identifying stress areas and burdens such as excessive schoolwork, social media bullying, or too many extracurricular activities. Your child may have to limit their extracurricular activities or drop a class. You should also teach them how to use social media healthily and help them find ways to disconnect.
- We should teach strategies to our children for stress management, which includes:
- Improve sleep hygiene by keeping your child’s bedroom quiet.
- To relieve anxiety, incorporating deep breathing exercise into your daily routine.
- Make time in your schedule, including playtime and reading that you find relaxing. Giving your child time to be themselves without the pressure of homework, soccer, or social obligations is important.
“While it’s vital that children stay active, eat healthily, and get enough rest, you also want to provide opportunities for them to participate in activities which reflect their interests, and give them an accomplishment.” said Dr. Scott manifestation. Encourage time management and avoid overscheduling. When you are aware of the times when your child is likely to become stressed, incorporate relaxation techniques during those times.
Dr. Scott encourages parents to show their children healthy behavior and practices to help them learn how to deal with stress.
Dr. Scott says that it’s important for parents to model healthy emotional reactions to stress. Parents can help their children’s resilience by making healthier habits and encouraging emotions that better accommodate change.
The Bottom Line
Parents have an important part to play in helping teens find stress-managing strategies. Caregivers can talk with children about dealing with their own stressful situations. Let kids be problem-solvers and fix their problems. Some parents swoop in to solve a little glitch. Their children don’t get the chance to learn healthy coping skills. Let your children try to solve their problems on their own, and gain confidence. Combat negative thinking. “I’m not good at math.” Why not try out?”. Teens fall into the trap of negative thinking, and they use negative self-talk. Ask them to frame things positively will help them develop resilience to stress.
