Recognizing Stress in Children and Ways You Can Help

Stress is a part of life. There is no avoiding it. We can try to put it away or run from it, but it inevitably comes back. This is a hard truth to process, but a necessary one. Especially if you want to become good in recognizing stress in children and helping them deal with it. And that is exactly what you should do. Shielding your kids from stress will only make them incapable of handling it once they grow up. Every kid needs to experience stress in their life in order to learn how to manage it and how to operate under it. But, there are such experiences that can be too stressful for a kid. Well, that is where you step in. And, as you can see, handling stress properly is not easy nor simple. So, let us jump in.

Common causes of stress for kids

Every kid experiences life in their own way. For starters, there are numerous differences between growing up as a boy and growing up as a girl. But, there are some common causes of stress for kids in our culture. These are usually related to changes in a child's life which always lead to stress. Every big change is going to be stressful. Therefore, what you need to do is to help your child through it. Your home may look grand, but it is up to you to make sure that everyone living in it is doing well.

School

For most kids, schools are the biggest cause of stress. Yes, there are considerable variations in how hard a school is and how demanding the professors are. But, even if the subjects in school are easy for the child, you need to keep the social element in mind. A big part of why kids go to school is to learn how to socialize. Recognizing stress in children is all about looking at things from the child's angle. And, if you are at all introverted, you will easily understand why schools are so stressful. One wrong move and you can be stuck with a bad nickname for years.

The more you think about it the more you will realize how stressful school can be

Moving

I remember moving as a kid. There is hardly an experience that can be as stressful as that. Sure, your parents say that you are moving to a better place, but that hardly matters. You are leaving your whole life behind and you have no way of imagining how different your future life is going to be. That is what you need to understand when recognizing stress in children caused by moving. So, before you consider relocating to NC with your family, try to talk with your kids about it. The better they understand the situation, the better they will be able to calm themselves down. You should even consider taking them on a trip to see their future neighborhood. That way they will be able to visualize their new life, which can do wonders in managing stress.

Remodeling

Home remodeling can also be quite stressful. As a child, you experience your home as a safe place that doesn't change. But, suddenly, there are all these strange people walking around changing everything. How can that not be stressful? But, don't worry. Handling stress when remodeling is actually quite easy. First, you need to declutter your home so that your child has enough room to play. You can keep your belongings in safe storage units in NC, for instance, or use a room in your house as storage. But, as long as your child has a room where they can escape from remodeling, they will be able to avoid stress if it becomes too much.

If your kid has a safe place to play in, they will be able to avoid all the stress associated with home remodeling

What to do after recognizing stress in children

The things I mentioned before are just some of the common causes of stress in children. Once you sit down and think about it, there is actually no way of listing all the causes of stress, as life itself is filled with stress. Therefore, what you need to understand is that recognizing stress in children is just the first step in helping them. What you then must do is to give them tools that will enable them to handle stress on their own. Only then will you be truly helping them.

Understand

First, you need to help your kids understand the situation they are in. Do not think that you understand them just because you have been through something similar. Everyone experiences things differently, which is why it can be quite hard to really understand someone, even if they are only 5. What you need to do is to help them understand themselves. Even if you are divorced, you need to find enough time to talk with your child about what is happening in their lives. An honest talk about the current situation can do wonders for reducing stress. Once your kid is able to conceive and think about the situation at hand, they will able to deal with stress associated with it.

Physical exercise

One highly underrated tool for dealing with stress is physical exercise. Kids are filled with energy. And in today's virtual world, they hardly have enough room to release that energy. Therefore, do them and yourself a huge favor and involve them in physical activity. Anything that they like, as long as it is demanding. It can be sports, dancing, martial arts, bike riding, whatever. As long as it is a legit physical skill that they have to master. A lot of kids’ stress is actually excess energy that has nowhere to go. Once they start exercising, you will notice a significant difference in their attitude and demeanor. Just make sure that they attempt something where they need to struggle. They should be excited to go, but they should also struggle.