A child living a social life goes to school, communicates with friends, attends various events and crowded places. Consequently, there are plenty of reasons to experience both positive and negative emotions. Teenagers can also experience stress. How to protect your child from it? Psychologists advise playing. Simple and effective games will help relieve nervous tension in a child, get rid of anxiety and teach him to express emotions. Therefore, parents should know what to do if their teenager is stressed and how to protect him.
Symptoms of stress in children
Children who are stressed have mood swings.
They can have fun and play, and a minute later they will get into a fight because they will be irritated by something. Stressed children have difficulty falling asleep, may wake up in the middle of the night, and do not have a clear sleep schedule. Under stress, children sometimes develop bedwetting. That is, the child does not get up to go to the toilet and does not reflexively wait until he wakes up, but “does the job” in his pants. Physical sensations such as headaches or abdominal pain are also common. Children under stress have difficulty controlling their attention, which immediately affects their grades in kindergarten and school. The child receives comments from the teacher. The baby may withdraw into himself, avoiding games, walks with friends and communication with family members.
Young children under stress become susceptible to many negative habits. They may begin to chew the skin around the nails or the nails themselves, suck their thumb, pick their nose, lick or bite their lips, etc. Children of school age and older in some cases begin to intimidate others, lie a lot, and try to prove their independence and independence. The reaction to requests from parents and teachers may be inadequate, including aggressive. A child who lives in stress is characterized by fears and nightmares. He becomes overly fussy. He reacts unusually violently to small problems and obstacles.
How to cope with stress: helping a preschooler
How to help your child and maintain a good relationship with him? Here are tips from psychologists for parents if their child has suffered stress.
Find the reason
The reason for strong, short-term stress lies on the surface. Chronic stress in a child's life has a cumulative effect and makes itself felt over time. If you want to help your child, look for and eliminate the stressor.
Give a feeling of security
Be there, reassure the baby, remind him of your love for him, hug him. Talk to him calmly, evenly, kindly. Does your child not want to go to kindergarten, is he afraid to be left without you? Explain to him that you are leaving for a while.
Control your behavior
Is the baby capricious, hysterical, contradictory? Don't rush to punish - these are signs of stress. Discuss with him the reason for this behavior, help him explain his feelings in words. Children at an early age do not understand what is happening to them and cannot control their emotions. Help them release them constructively. Set boundaries for acceptable behavior.
Causes
The following factors can cause stress in a child (as well as in a teenager):
- change of place of residence (for example, a family moves to another city)
- quarrels or separations with loved ones (friends or relatives)
- changes in daily routine that are extremely difficult to adapt to
- peer pressure (if the child is a “black sheep” or gets into the wrong company)
- preparing and passing exams, interviews for a kindergarten or other educational institution
- beginning and end of the school year
- playing on the computer for many hours a day, especially shooting games
For children under 6 years of age, separation from mom, dad (or grandparents) while attending an educational institution can be stressful. If one of the child’s parents is stressed, this affects the family, including the child’s psychological comfort.
Stress can also be caused by world news that a child hears on TV, radio, from adults, etc. These can be wars or natural disasters. The child begins to worry about his safety and the situation of people dear to him, who could theoretically be affected by the events he heard/saw.
Environmental stress
This is a special type of stress in children associated with climate change. Air pollution and weather changes (for example, when it becomes sharply cold in the middle of summer and it rains) have a significant impact on the child's psyche. Stress can be caused by changes in air temperature, as well as pressure fluctuations.
Water quality is also a factor in environmental stress. Food contaminated with toxins or other substances can have negative effects on both the physical and psychological well-being of the baby. Children who are exposed to environmental stress are more likely to suffer from infectious diseases, develop allergies and stress-related disorders.
Stages
Stress that arises in a child can be divided into several stages. Each stage is characterized by an increasingly depressed emotional state. Prolonged stress turns into depression.
Anxiety
At the anxiety stage, the child feels inexplicable melancholy and restlessness. The child does not tell anyone about the stress he has experienced. The child withdraws into himself and is suspicious of relatives. A special distrust of unfamiliar people appears. There are no changes in the physical condition of the child.
Resistance
The child’s psyche actively resists the stress experienced. Tries to repress memories of a bad event. The reaction to stress is accompanied by a constant feeling of fatigue and moral exhaustion. The nervous system spends too much energy on internal experiences.
Exhaustion
The baby is mentally and physically exhausted and no longer has the strength to endure stress. The nervous system does not control emotions, which causes apathy or excessive aggression. Children are unable to sleep at night because they are tormented by nightmares during their sleep. Increased secrecy develops. Due to constant depression, a desire for suicide may develop.
The effect of stress on the body
When stressed, the level of mental tension increases, the child is in a cheerful state. The psyche is busy with over-control. This leads to the fact that various little things cause anxiety in the baby, he is constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The baby develops anxious expectations, for example, he is constantly afraid that something will happen to mom and dad on the way from work (they will be hit by a car, attacked by a robber, etc.).
Stress causes insomnia. This manifests itself with restless sleep and very difficult falling asleep. The child’s memory is deteriorating, it is difficult to keep attention on one object or the teacher’s story. Stress interferes with the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, endocrine systems and brain. The adrenal glands begin to produce excessive amounts of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. Children get tired very quickly when they are stressed. The muscles of their body are tense, especially the axial muscles, which leads to pain.
Stress increases the risk of cardiovascular pathologies by 4 times. They affect self-control, worsening it. The impulsive behavior that occurs in children can be mistaken for lack of attention and hyperactivity disorder. In 10-25 cases out of 100, relapses and exacerbations of diseases of internal organs are recorded in a child under constant stress.
Preventing stress in children
The best way for the body to adapt to various environmental factors is to have a daily routine and adequate rest for the baby’s needs. A child, depending on his age, should sleep a certain number of hours. For adults, the norm is 8 hours, but it can vary in each specific case. Professional athletes often sleep longer, and their bodies require additional time to recover compared to the average person. Children who are active in sports or dancing from an early age also sleep a little longer than children with average physical activity for their age. Also, hypotensive people sleep longer: people who are characterized by low blood pressure. Maximum sleep duration in infants.
Sleep hygiene
Doctors advise both children, teenagers and adults to go to bed at the same time. For example, teach your child that wake-up time is at 8 o’clock and bedtime is at 10 o’clock. You can’t go to bed too early, this will disrupt your body’s routine and circadian rhythms. It is not recommended to go to bed in negative emotions (upset, angry, etc.). It is better to calm the child down and put him in a positive mood before going to bed.
Before going to bed, you can take a cool shower. It should not be completely cold water, just not as hot as, for example, at other times of the day. This procedure will help you fall asleep quickly. Muscles in the shower should relax, so when taking a shower, it is recommended to listen to your body, regulating the duration of water procedures and a comfortable water temperature. In the evening and at night, do not use contrast showers, as well as cold or hot baths. They activate the body, and it will be very difficult to fall asleep.
Teach your child that the bed is only for sleeping. You need to play and read in other places. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the body to figure out why it should fall asleep in bed, if other interesting things usually happen in this place. You should monitor what and how much your child eats in the evening. Heavy and fatty foods should be avoided in the evening. Lean fish, lean meats, vegetables, fruits, cottage cheese, whole grain bread are acceptable, but no later than 3 hours before bedtime. Under no circumstances should you overeat; watch your child’s portion size. It is better not to eat sweets in the evening, even if your body weight is normal.
Computer games (as well as games on smartphones, etc.) activate the nervous system. Therefore, towards the evening (in the evening, and not just before going to bed), you need to switch to quiet games, reading, talking, watching TV shows about nature. Stop your child from playing computer games all evening. Stress and mental stress in the evening should be minimal. It is better to do homework at least 4 hours before bedtime.
Physical activity
Physical activity should be present in a child’s life, but all exercises and dances must be completed 3 hours before bedtime or earlier. It is better to perform physical exercises in the morning and afternoon; they will benefit both the nervous and muscular systems, and the entire body as a whole. The load should be regular. This increases the body's endurance and helps to “relieve stress.”
Interval training is effective. These are cyclic shifts of moderate and intense exercise, the total duration of which ranges from half an hour to 40 minutes. You can exercise 3 times a week or every day. You need to look at the child’s interest and physical fitness. If you are just starting physical exercise of any nature, you need to start with a minimal and infrequent load, gradually maximizing the frequency and intensity.
Children can run, race walk (preferably cross-country), ride a bike, or ski. Various types of fitness are recommended, including water aerobics. You can send your child to dance. Preference is given to sports dancing, which develops the child’s inner world, his sense of rhythm, the ability to work in a team, self-discipline, and also helps to get rid of stress by relaxing the psyche and muscles. Swimming in the pool is also recommended. This could be training with parents or group classes with a trainer. Also good options for physical activity for children to prevent stress are tennis and various types of wrestling.
It is best to alternate rhythmic types of physical activity with relaxation practices such as yoga, stretching and Pilates. But this is recommended mainly for teenagers and adults; for children, such options are almost not considered. Exercises of this nature should be done 1-2 times a week to strengthen the musculoskeletal system. This is especially true for children with connective tissue dysplasia syndrome.
Physical activity should generally begin with a warm-up for 10-15 minutes, followed by 20-30 minutes of intense physical activity, and then a so-called “cool-down”, which ends the workout. It lasts from 10 to 15 minutes on average. Its pace is not as active as the warm-up. Children can eat an hour and a half before physical activity. Children have a fast metabolism, so the option “eat 3 hours before training” is not considered. Otherwise, the body experiences so-called metabolic stress. A small athlete may faint, etc.
Signs of stress in a teenager
— Increased fatigue, moodiness, apathy — A sharp increase in appetite, switching to sweet and fatty foods — Dissatisfaction with one’s own appearance, excessive skin care, attempts to lose weight or “pump up” — Anger, aggressiveness, irritability in response to interest in his life — A sharp decline academic performance, loss of interest in studies and hobbies - Frequent smoking, regular drinking of alcohol - Withdrawal of a teenager, distancing him from family and friends - A sharp decrease in self-esteem, the emergence of self-doubt
Healthy eating for stress
Poor quality food has a negative impact on the body. Basically, those products that are sold in supermarkets cannot be called healthy. The choice of food, especially for children, must be approached carefully. Eating bad food reduces the baby’s body’s resistance to stress factors. Food should be rich in vitamins and minerals in the quantities required for the body, this is called a balanced diet. If the diet is unsystematic, semi-finished products, supermarket dishes, and fast food predominate, then the functioning of the brain and nervous system is disrupted, and the child’s mood becomes too changeable.
Magnesium deficiency as a stress factor in children
Today, children often lack magnesium in their bodies. If you notice that your child is too excitable, has become restless, irritable, gets tired quickly, or is depressed, you should take a magnesium test to determine its amount in the body. Magnesium is an essential microelement. It regulates how much energy a cell produces and uses. Responsible for calming the nervous system. Even if the stress factors are minor, but there is a deficiency of magnesium in the body, the child will be stressed.
A lack of magnesium leads to energy being used inefficiently. Inflammatory processes in the body begin to become active, metabolic processes occur outside the norm, cells of various systems and organs are destroyed when they should not be. Children with magnesium deficiency often weigh more than normal and accumulate fat tissue. Because of this, they are prone to hypertension and insulin resistance develops. If the problem is not solved in time, the child will develop such serious problems as obesity, as well as diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
The cause of a lack of magnesium in the body is, in most cases, poor nutrition. This not only increases stress, but also contributes to the development of various diseases. Mostly, children who have a lot of table salt in their diet lack magnesium. It enters the body not only with salty home-cooked dishes. An important role is played by “hidden” salt, which is found in large quantities in semi-finished products, sausages, etc. Refined products do not contain magnesium or have a minimal amount of it. Energy drinks, which many teenagers abuse, are also a factor in the development of magnesium deficiency in the body.
Magnesium is also less easily absorbed due to aspartame and glutamate. These are food additives that are found in the vast majority of fast food and processed foods today. They also remove magnesium from the body. As a result, people who eat such food get emotional disorders, not to mention a number of diseases of different organs and systems.
The period from November to March is characterized by a decrease in the amount of magnesium in the body. Another reason for the lack of this element: stress. The more nervous and worried a child is, the less magnesium he has in his blood. The need of children's organisms for this element is greater than that of adults. This is explained by growth processes. Children need approximately 6 mg of magnesium per 1 kg of weight. Toddlers under 3 years old need 50 to 150 mg, children 4 to 6 years old need 200 mg, children 7 to 10 years old need 250 mg, and a child 11 to 17 years old will need 300 mg magnesium.
Here's how you can increase your magnesium levels:
- introduce green vegetables into your diet
- eat more fruits, grains and cereals
- introduce into your diet foods containing vitamin B6, which helps magnesium to be absorbed in the body (brown rice, potatoes baked in their skins, bananas, buckwheat, etc.)
- replace table salt with sea salt
- use a minimum amount of salt when preparing dishes
Today, the drug Magne B6 is used to prevent magnesium deficiency. It helps prevent the effects of stress on the body. "Magne B6" helps magnesium to be absorbed and enter properly into the cells of tissues and organs. Doctors prescribe Magne B6 drinking solution to patients over 12 months of age. Magne B6 forte can be taken by children over 6 years of age. The dosage of the drug may differ in each individual case, therefore self-medication and independent prevention are not recommended. Be sure to consult a doctor if you suspect a magnesium deficiency in your child’s body, or if tests reveal a decrease in the level of this element in the blood.
If there is a sufficient amount of magnesium in the body , children have good memory, which is reflected in their academic performance. They are in a good mood and feel good. Manifestations of autonomic dysfunction are minimized. If a child suffers from headaches, you should also suspect a lack of magnesium. Headaches are often triggered by stress. Often, not only taking one magnesium drug is required, but complex therapy, which is prescribed by the attending physician.
