Stress in childhood

An increasing amount of children today are falling victim to the negative effects of stress in greater numbers than ever before. The causes of stress tend to be mainly environmental namely: family; friends and school, until the pubescent phase sets in and adds further troublesome hormones to already indiscernible mix. This condition has been recognized and diagnosed recently due to the sheer number of occurrence. Children do have to deal with violence, peer pressure, underage drinking, drug abuse, pressure to have sex and to achieve good grades, bound to a back-to-back extracurricular activity programme, to have a social life and to ensure that all the adults in their lives are pacified. Young kids are exposed to similar challenges and experience their fair share of stress. They are sometimes faced with difficult family situations and peer interactions. These challenges may not seem difficult to adults but could cause substantial stress reactions in children. Childhood experiences do have an impact on the individual throughout their adult lives as children who are poorly nurtured are less able to deal with stressful situations. These adults are more than likely to react in an extreme manner and maintain high levels of stress hormones long after the stress subsided, compared to their well nurtured counterparts. Parents should subsequently provide a supportive, loving, nurturing environment to ensure that their children are equipped to deal with unaviodable stressful situations. Children will then form the neural pathways necessary for healthy stress management. Situations of extreme neglect may actually destroy neural pathways that were already established resulting in possible learning disabilities. Some stress could be good for your kids as it could enhance performance when it is most necessary. It could also prove to be a valuable learning curve as stress is an integral part of life. http://www.bubblews.com/news/528637-stress-in-childhood