Signs Of Stress In Children And How To Deal With It

Child Psychology

Stress is our body's reaction to some physical or emotional instances. Occasional stress is unavoidable in our day-to-day lives. But steady stress can possibly set off a number of health and emotional problems that when not managed effectively could result in more critical problems. While stress is prevalent among adults, is it common for kids to be stressed, too?

Little ones are mainly carefree and have no uncertainties and responsibilities to think about. Therefore, it is very easy to presume that they don't go through any type of stress. But, a couple researches indicate that kids can also suffer from physical and emotional stress like adults do. But as opposed to adults, children lack the understanding or capabilities to deal with stress appropriately. Therefore, as a grownup or parent, your youngster should be able to depend on you to learn about the condition he/she is enduring and how to cope with it.


Great changes such as separation of parents, demise of a relative, settling to a new house and even the birth of another sibling could all turn a child's world upside down. These tremendous and typically unforeseen changes can shake his complacency and make him feel confused and lost.

Even favorable events in the whole family such as the birth of a sibling, birthday parties and new pets can also trigger stress. Adults may not see it but family obligations despite how little it is may cause stress and tension to a grade-schooler even more so when the adults are too tied up to guide the child through all the events that are going on within the family.

The younger ones find it hard to identify or verbalize when they are experiencing stress. But stress in children typically comes up through adverse changes in conduct. These changes include being quickly flustered, sensitive, sluggish, lethargic or aggressive. Regularly expressing worries, whining excessively about school, sleeping and eating either too little or too much, crying too much, showing peculiar frightened reactions are also indications of stress. Although adverse changes in conduct are not always correlated to stress, they are distinct indications that something is not right. Stress can also show up in physical symptoms including headaches, belly pains, nausea, dizziness, etc.

You ought to pay full focus to your young child particularly when he is not acting like he normally does and decide on the correct response or intervention to help your child deal with whatever he is enduring. Most importantly, you should assure your little one that you will always be there for him no matter what because you care.


Parents and their children do not have to cope with stress by themselves. If you suspect that your kid is indicating symptoms of stress regularly, it may be best to talk to a professional Melbourne psychologist for children. A professional psychologist will be able to identify the cause of your child's changing behavior and come up with a mental health treatment plan if needed.