I’m on the Today Show with “Stress Busters for Kids” Thurs. Jan 21 9 am

Special note: I’ll be on TODAY show this Thursday, Jan 21 sharing Stress Busters for Kids in the 9 am hour. (I will post that link and exact time slot when it comes available). Reports says that stress is mounting in our children, that we parents are often unaware of just how stressed-out our kids are. The key is to teach our children ways to manage their stress. I’ll share six simple stress-reducing strategies that you can teach your children on that segment. I’ll also post that link and those strategies later this week. The best news is that all strategies use common household items — so you already have these items around your house- and all are proven to help reduce stress. Your first step is knowing how to identifying kids’ stress signs age by age. So read on.

Studies Show Stress Top Health Concern for Teens

The American Psychological Association (APA) released troubling survey results about our kids. The “Stress in America” survey was of 1206 young people ages eight to seventeen as well as 1568 adults. It was conducted this summer by Harris Interactive. The report, building on past research, revealed that stress is a top health concern for American teens between 9th and 12th grade.

Among key findings: parents underestimated the level of their kids stress. Translation: Our kids re much more stressed than we think.

• 31% of parents say their child has little or no stress vs. 9% of kids report little or no stress
• Tweens (30 percent) and teens (42 percent) say they get headaches vs. 13 percent of parents
• Tweens (39 percent) and teens (49 percent) cite difficulty sleeping vs. 13 percent of parents
• Tweens (27 percent) and teens (39 percent) report eating too much or too little vs. 8 percent of parents

What’s more, tweens and teens were far more likely than their parents to report that their stress levels had increased in the last year.

• Nearly half of all teens (ages 13 to 17) said they were more worried than last year, while only 28% of their parents thought their adolescent’s stress had increased.

Other key findings:

• 44% of young people say doing well in school was a source of stress
• 30% of young people worry about their family having enough money
• 29% of teens say they worry about getting into a good college or deciding what to do after high school
• 22% of tweens worry about getting along with friends

Psychologists also say that if teens don’t learn healthy ways to manage their stress now, it could have serious long-term health implications.

The key question is: Do you know your child’s stress signs? Only then will you know when to help him reduce that stress. Read on…

Signs of Stress in Kids

Each kid responds differently, but the key is to identify your child’s physical behavioral or emotions signs before he is on overload. A clue is to look for behaviors that are not typical for your child “normal.”

Here are stress signs from The Big Book of Parenting Solutions: 101 Answers to Your Everyday Challenges and Wildest Worries. Is your child displaying any of these symptoms that could be stress related?

Physical Stress Signs

• Headache, neck aches and backaches
• Nausea, diarrhea, constipation, stomachache, vomiting
• Shaky hands, sweaty palms, feeling shaky, lightheadedness
• Bedwetting
• Trouble sleeping, nightmares
• Change in appetite
• Stuttering
• Frequent colds, fatigue

Emotional or Behavior Stress Signs

• New or reoccurring fears; anxiety and worries
• Trouble concentrating; frequent daydreaming
• Restlessness or irritability
• Social withdrawal, unwilling to participate in school or family activities
• Moodiness; sulking; or inability to control emotions
• Nail biting; hair twirling; thumb-sucking; fist clenching; feet tapping
• Acting out, anger, aggressive behaviors such as tantrums, disorderly conduct
• Regression or baby-like behaviors
• Excessive whining or crying
• Clinging, more dependent, won’t let you out of his sight

If you suspect stress could be the cause of these symptoms then look for triggers that you can reduce. For instance: if you suspect scary nightly news could be a trigger then a simple solution is to turn it off!. If you child has no time to relax, then cut one of those activities. If the fear of flunking a math class is causing too much stress, then consider getting a tutor and calling for a teacher conference to create a remedy.

For More Help

But don’t stop there! The key message from the APA study is that our kids must also learn healthy ways to replace that stress.

Turn to the chapter on STRESS in The Big Book of Parenting Solutions and find the stress-reducing strategy that you think will work best for your child. Continue practicing the strategy together until your child can use the stress-reducer without you. At that point you’ll know your son or daughter has learned a life-long habit.