Too much stress can take a toll on your child’s or teen’s mental and physical health. Pediatrician Rachel Wiese shares the most common signs of stress in school-age children, how to help your child navigate academic anxiety and when to seek support.
Not all stress is bad
First things first: Not all stress and anxiety are bad — in fact, they’re a very normal part of life.
“Sometimes school-related anxiety can be motivating,” says Wiese. “For example, math competitions, goals within a study group and getting a good grade after studying are all ‘positive anxiety’ goals.”
While it’s normal for your child to stress or worry when preparing for a big test, you don’t want them to feel constant pressure throughout the school year.
Signs of stress in school-age children
If your child is under too much pressure or exhibiting frequent signs of stress, they may experience physical and mental health symptoms.
“The signs of stress in kids and teens can be subtle,” says Wiese. “Declining grades is the most common sign, but children can often have physical complaints like abdominal pain and headache. They may also withdraw from friends they were previously close to at school.”
The signs of stress in kids and teens can be subtle. Declining grades is the most common sign, but children can often have physical complaints like abdominal pain and headache. They may also withdraw from friends they were previously close to at school.
How to help your child handle academic stress
- Reinforce hard work vs. results. Acknowledge their hard work more than the outcome and encourage them to be happy with their efforts even if their grade isn’t an A+.
- Give them time to process. Let your child process their school performance and share the results with you when they’re ready.
- Separate your love from their academic performance. For example, you could say, “I love you no matter what grade you made — you did your best.”
- Support a variety of interests. Encouraging your child to pursue a wide range of interests in and out of school is beneficial for cultivating mental well-being and resilience.
- Encourage in-person friendships. Investing in true friendships is also essential for kids’ and teens’ healthy development and stress management.
- Help them maintain healthy habits. Nourishing meals, regular exercise, plenty of sleep and stress management tools like mindfulness, meditation, journaling, yoga and breathing exercises are all essential to your child’s overall well-being.
Children respond to stress in different ways, and some responses are more productive than others. Check out our podcast for mindfulness strategies you can use with your kids to help alleviate stress.
When to seek help for academic stress
Wiese recommends talking with your child’s pediatrician or a licensed therapist if your child consistently exhibits any of the following signs of poor mental health, which may include:
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- Difficulty focusing
- Problems sleeping
- Withdrawing from others or keeping to themselves
- Sudden lack of communication with parents
- Self-harm
- Physical complaints of headache, stomachache or feeling tired
“The early identification of mental health struggles is so important in our children,” says Wiese. She recommends finding a therapist who works with children and teens and offers cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Excerpted from “Under pressure: Helping your child or teen cope with school-related stress” from Atrium Health. Read the full post for additional details and strategies.
Source: Atrium Health | Under pressure: Helping your child or teen cope with school-related stress, https://atriumhealth.org/dailydose/2024/03/28/stressmental-health | © 2024 Atrium Health, Retrieved August 2024
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