Kids Have
Stress Too!

"A child's ability to cope with stress in the early years has consequences for physical and emotional health throughout life."
— National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2005)

"We are living in the midst of the most powerful revolution imaginable in our understanding of how to enhance a child's development," says Dr. Stuart Shanker.

An alarmingly large number of children continue to fall by the wayside or just manage to scrape through. The answer lies in how much stress they experience at the start of their lives.

Did you know?

• All children, even very young children, experience stress.
• Children benefit when they improve their ability to deal with stress – and they can learn ways to
  do this.
• Research shows that up to 90% of illnesses are stress related.

Too much stress causes problems for kids:

• It becomes harder to concentrate, learn and get along with others.
• It has a profound effect on their health.
• It interferes with children's ability to focus and think. If they're afraid or anxious, they may spend so much energy worrying, they cannot learn.

But we know that:

• Children can learn simple, age-appropriate coping strategies.
• Children who develop healthy coping skills to deal with stress feel more competent, are more resilient and are better able to relax and solve problems.

Kids say their stress comes from many different things:

• Change – moving to a different home or school; starting school for the first time.
• Having too much to do — they need some quiet time.
• Feeling different from other kids or being teased or bullied.
• Fighting or arguing among family members; not getting along well with brothers or sisters.
• Having trouble with schoolwork.
• Being yelled at by family, friends or teachers.
• Family break-up.
• Most of all, feeling lonely or unloved.

© The Psychology Foundation of Canada (PFC) – This information is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced or used without permission from PFC.