Ask any adult about stress in their lives, and the list seems endless: work responsibilities, household chores, finances, and juggling family members' schedules are only some of the daily stressors facing most of us. In comparison, the daily lives of our children can often seem idyllic. They don't have bills to pay or schedules to organize. They don't have to meet deadlines at work or organize the latest school fundraiser. However, they do have real feelings of stress that can lead to feelings of depression or anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and behavioral outbursts.

Stress in children and teenagers is often overlooked. Stress can be caused by all sorts of things such as school assignments, peer relationships, and sibling rivalry. And even though we as parents try to hide our own stress from our kids, they often pick up on the fact that we're overwhelmed, tired, and maybe even frustrated.

Unfortunately children aren't born with knowledge and skills necessary to manage stress. But there are things we can do to help them. The following link is to an article from KidsHealth.org on how to help your children manage stress. It contains several ideas for helping your child learn to label and manage their feelings appropriately.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/stress_coping.html#

An excerpt:
"Put a label on it. Many kids do not yet have words for their feelings. If your child seems angry or frustrated, use those words to help him or her learn to identify the emotions by name. Putting feelings into words helps kids communicate and develop emotional awareness — the ability to recognize their own emotional states. Kids who can do so are less likely to reach the behavioral boiling point where strong emotions get demonstrated through behaviors rather than communicated with words."

Source: KidsHealth.org; Reviewed by D'Arcy Lyness, PhD, February 2009
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