All people experience stress.  It is our natural reaction to everyday challenges or threats.  Stress can be a positive motivator when experienced in brief episodes.  For example, it can push a child to study for a quiz or complete a homework assignment.  But when stress is experienced for a prolonged period, it can become debilitating and lead to difficulties with family, peers and school work.

There are specific experiences within a child’s life that may cause added stress e.g. family conflict, death of a loved one, parental divorce, changes in school and violence or trauma in the community.  In early childhood, being away from a parent, attending school or strange situations may cause discomfort.  In middle school, increased school demands and peer pressure may heighten a child’s level of stress.  Adolescents may experience increased stress due to social factors, romantic relationships and the need to achieve.  Even experiences that are seemingly happy or positive can cause stress in children, such as the birth of a sibling, school graduation or being singled out for a personal achievement.

Children continually learn how to care for themselves and need guidance in how to express and understand their feelings.  The way parents respond to life situations greatly impacts how well children learn to cope with their emotions.  Children who learn positive coping skills such as stress reduction and relaxation will:

• be better able to respond to and recover from difficult situations
• experience less anxiety
• have fewer behavior problems
• experience increased self-control and self-confidence
• have positive interpersonal relations.

Parents can encourage effective stress reduction and relation in the following ways:

• Help your child become aware of when they are experiencing stress.  Stress exhibits itself in three ways: physiological (increased heart rate, headaches, nausea), behavioral (disturbed sleep, getting easily annoyed, being avoidant) and cognitive (difficulty concentrating, worrying, negative thinking).  By helping your child learn to recognize the signs of stress, they will learn when to use stress reducing or relaxation activities.
  
• Deep breathing is a highly effective way to decrease stress.  Teach your child this technique.  Practice breathing in deeply and then breathing out slowly.  Repeat this a few times.  A great time to practice deep breathing with your child is when you are putting them to bed.
• Progressive muscle relaxation is another effective technique.  Focus on an area of the body such as the arms, and tense them as much as possible for a count of ten.  Then release the muscles for a count of ten.  Progress through the major areas of the body (arms, shoulders, legs).  This can also be practiced before going to sleep.
• Other relaxation techniques include praying, meditation, yoga, listening to soft music and visualization.
• Regular exercise, engaging in hobbies or spending time with friends can also help lower stress.

Parents can be very helpful by staying attuned with their children’s emotional experiences, asking how they are doing and providing an environment in which they feel comfortable talking about how they feel.

Central Baptist Hospital’s Community Education and Fitness Express Fitness and Wellness Center offers Yoga and Tai Chi for Life classes. Our Consumer Health Information Library can help with resources and additional information on stress reduction and relaxation.  Call 859-260-6457.