Stress Symptoms in Children

What are some common stress symptoms in children? They can vary from person to person. It is important to learn to recognize the symptoms in children and also to teach kids to recognize the symptoms themselves.

Here is a list of common signs of stressful feelings:

Migraines or Headaches
Nausea
Heartburn and Indigestion
Loss of Appetite
Chest Palpitations
Constipation or Diarrhoea
Stomach cramps
Shaking of the body
Muscle spasms
Eczema / Psoriasis that flares up
Higher levels of sweating
Poor Concentration

Your child’s overall health, nutritional status and degree of physical fitness , sleep levels and emotional well-being, will affect how he or she deals with stressful feelings on a daily basis.

Behaviours Associated with Increased Tension in Children

Certain behaviors are associated with stress. If a child suddenly develops any of the following symptoms it could be related to stressful feelings.

Over-eating and Weight gain
Loss of appetite
Irritability with others
Difficulty making decisions
Lack of concentration
Higher levels of emotion (eg cries easily)
Nail biting or thumb sucking
Bed wetting
Difficulty sleeping
Poor gut health
often occurs if a child is worried or anxious. If you child exhibits any of these symptoms visit your family doctor to see if they could be related to recent stressors.

Teaching your child to recognize the symptoms in themselves is an excellent skill. Start by modeling your own reactions to stress. For example, when you feel stressed explain it aloud. For example, "I am starting to feel stressed, when I am feeling stress my face turns a bit red and I get a funny feeling in my tummy."

Ask your child to notice what happens to him/her when they feel stress. This is the first step to being able to manage stressful feelings well.

Managing stress is an important skill for children to learn. Keep practicing this skill and the techniques for managing stress will become ingrained and natural to your child.
Using bibliotherapy is a good tool to help children realise when they are stressed. By identifying with the feelings of the characters in the stories they are likely to understand their own stress. Check out these stories