What Are the Causes of Stress on Children?

Childhood stress can have a lasting impact if the warning signs aren't spotted early. Caregivers for children, including parents, teachers and sitters need to understand the causes of childhood stress so that these can be removed or at least mitigated. Adults often get wrapped up with the frantic pace of their lifestyles, and teachers can be overwhelmed by the number of students in their classes, but by understanding what causes stress in children, they can be more alert and aware of these factors.

The Facts

• One of the main factors of childhood stress is divorce and parental fighting. Sometimes parents even put their children in the middle, trying to get them to choose sides. Moving can cause stress in children, too. Other factors that can cause stress in children include bullies at school, holidays, televised news, academic pressure and a constantly changing daily routine.

Considerations

• Parents who split or divorce should take extreme efforts to not involve the children in the process. Each parent should talk to the children and say that the divorce has nothing to do with them. Also, children need to know that divorce will not result in their not seeing one of the parents anymore. Another consideration is that childhood stress can make children withdraw emotionally and thus impact their social development.

Prevention/Solution

• Caregivers should discuss any negative televised news stories viewed by children, such as murders and war stories. Bullies should be dealt with by teachers, and parents should notify teachers of any bullying that their children experience. Moving should be discussed at length ahead of time, and the new home should be visited by the children. Parents and teachers should encourage children to do well academically but be congratulatory of efforts made by the children, no matter what the academic result.

Identification

• Children undergoing stress can give indications that vary with their age. Younger children might resort to thumb sucking. Older children could develop nervous tics such as constantly toying with a strand of hair. Other signs include withdrawal and irritability. Children under stress can lash out at their peers, so this kind of activity needs to be constantly monitored.

Expert Insight

• What children need most in terms of reducing the stressful environments is a daily routine. They need to know what to expect when they get up each day, at least as much as possible, because adults sometimes forget how new the world is to them. By giving them routines and structure, adults can help to give children the foundation they need to succeed.