Prevention of stress in preschool children

Every day we are faced with situations that require us to be collected and react well. Such situations are associated with a sharp change in the environment, a change in the psycho-emotional environment. Such a sudden change in a person’s established way of life is called a stressful situation. It is foolish to believe that only adults who encounter it most often at work are susceptible to stress. Children are also very often exposed to stress in everyday life.

Stress leads to minor changes in the child’s body that help cope with environmental changes. Such changes in the body are temporary, and after the child’s environment has normalized, the body again adjusts to everyday work.

Changes in the body aimed at combating stress “exhaust” the body, as they require large amounts of energy. With prolonged stress, when the body does not have time to “rest,” persistent dysfunctions of the body can develop, which will manifest themselves in the form of various diseases.

Symptoms of stress in a child

Regardless of age category, parents may notice the following symptoms of stress in a child:

• sleep disorders;
• sudden change of mood;
• isolation and desire for loneliness;
• urinary incontinence at night;
• decreased concentration, which is reflected in the child’s academic performance;
• irritability;
• aggressiveness;
• fears;
• fussiness.

Children may act like babies, such as thumb sucking.

Aggression is a symptom of nervous stress in a child | liveposts.ru

Take a closer look to see if your child has a convulsive tic:

• frequent swallowing;
• twitching of individual muscles;
• winding a strand of hair around your finger;
• speech disorder.

Stress in early school age

At this age, the boundaries of communication expand, and a new stage begins - school age. If in kindergarten a preschooler experienced stress from separation from his parents, then school adaptation is much broader. Traumatic circumstances can include relationships with a teacher, classmates, and school workload.

• family troubles, divorce;
• moving, disaster, death of a loved one;
• experienced fright.

How does childhood stress manifest itself during this period? The student may refuse to attend school, sleep is disturbed, there is no appetite, inexplicable outbursts of anger occur, and the mood is depressed. Traumatic experiences can manifest themselves in the form of illnesses. The stomach suffers, there is unexplained vomiting, skin diseases, tics, and stuttering are possible.

Help with stress in a school-age child should be comprehensive. Typically, family scandals affect school behavior and academic performance, so all possible causes must be excluded. You need to talk to children of this age, show sincere participation, and observe emotional and manifestations. You cannot put pressure on a student; he may not be able to cope with the burden of demands.

Mental stress greatly affects your health and psyche. For a child, traumatic experiences turn out to be an unbearable burden. In most cases, negative emotions affect the personality; deformation can manifest itself in aggressiveness, passive behavior, and isolation. Psychologists recommend helping children by creating a calm family atmosphere.

Causes of stress in children

Interestingly, the human body negatively perceives stress caused by both a negative event (distress) and a pleasant one (eustress). Stress in children causes:

• changing of the living place;
• parting with friends;
• loss of a loved one;
• deterioration of relationships between parents (even to the point of divorce) or other family members;
• peer pressure;
• sudden change in daily routine;
• beginning/end of the academic year and related exams, interviews, etc.;
• passion for aggressive computer games.

The causes of stress in children lie in relationships with peers |
likequeen.com.ua Sometimes watching world news can cause severe stress in a child. Frightening scenes from the scene and a deliberately alarming voice of the announcer can seriously disturb the baby.

Later development

Late speech development. I remember one child, 2.5 years old, who could not speak. He was a late child in a family that already had four children. He constantly played with one or the other, and everyone fulfilled his every desire, while he did not need to say anything, since he was understood without words. When there were no other children nearby, the baby stayed with his mother, and she told him many interesting things. He remained silent, but at the same time he did not at all look like a child under stress. Since my parents were very worried, I had to calm them down. One day, what was supposed to happen happened. Two little cousins ​​came to visit this family for the holidays. To communicate with them, the baby had to speak, which he did, discovering a surprisingly rich vocabulary for his age, including swear words! But not all situations are so simple. If stress prevents a child from expressing what he wants, all types of delayed development, delays and retardation are possible: from shyness to complete muteness. In the most extreme case, a withdrawn child cannot speak clearly to the people around him. Dr. Axlin in his book “Dibe” described in detail how, as a result of stress, a child completely withdraws into himself. If you see that a child has late speech development, then you need to use all means to fill this gap. But at the same time, it is necessary to find the reasons for such late development, in particular, to take into account cases of stress that are so frequent in a child’s life. It is known how difficult it is for children of immigrants to learn to speak. One mother told me about her daughter, who was taken abroad by her parents as a child. At the time of departure, the girl was 2 years old and she was already very talkative (this quality is inherent in her even now, 20 years later). She had the habit of talking to everyone about everything, she talked a lot and was always to the point. But in the country where she came, they did not speak French. She tried her best to be understood by the adults, who only looked at her sweetly but did not answer. After several weeks spent in such an environment, the girl had to be treated for an incipient stomach ulcer - a typical sign of stress. Wanting to be understood, the girl quickly learned the language of the country in which she now lived, a language that she now speaks as fluently as her native one. All children who speak a foreign language completely stop speaking their native language after a few months. Either they are afraid of getting confused, or they want to strengthen their position in a new place. If at the same time the parents speak only their native language, the situation worsens, and all this does not contribute to the development of the child.

If the child “went late.” Among other vital functions, the ability to stand occupies a special place; it marks a certain stage in human development. Improving the balance centers allows a person to adapt to a vertical body position and stand on his feet. We all admired the child's tireless attempts to stand on his feet, when he endlessly, clinging to something, gets up and falls again on his butt. Soft and numerous bedding cushions the fall, but this, of course, is still unpleasant. And he tries to get up again and again, and so on until he succeeds! At first it only stands for a few seconds, then a little longer. Neither falling forward or backward, nor blows, nor bumps - nothing can distract him from his obsession with walking. The first steps are the reward for all attempts. What a feeling of freedom and pride! The first steps are just the beginning of further, increasingly successful attempts. Some children develop earlier, but usually children begin to walk between one and a half years. However, it also happens that older children cannot walk. They continue to crawl on all fours and become little all-terrain vehicles, which can become dangerous. If this situation continues for quite a long time, you should look for the reason that is preventing the child from walking. If a thorough examination does not reveal any abnormalities, you need to look for the cause in the stress that caused such a reaction. It literally means: “I don’t walk.” L means: “With you.” Having decided to deal with the situation that caused stress in his own way, the child refuses to walk and grow bigger. The baby will agree to stand on his feet and walk like everyone else when this situation changes or he adapts to it himself.

Reluctance to live. When an infant has unsuccessfully tried to overcome stress, having exhausted all its possibilities, it begins to be overwhelmed by despair, it literally drowns in it, it is defeated, despite the undoubted resistance of the whole organism. At the end of the Second World War, many shelters were created for orphans, victims of the war. In some institutions, the staff actually surrounded these babies with affection and care. Despite their injuries, most of the children in such shelters emerged from their difficult situation with honor. In other institutions, unfortunately, children were looked after by incompetent people. They only did everything necessary, but without a warm human relationship, without trying to establish emotional contact with little patients. Namely, the much-needed emotional contact could save children from emotional overload, which often has a fatal meaning. Despite excellent sanitary conditions, many little orphans could not stand this attitude and died. A newborn, a baby, a small child is completely open to perception, they are very sensitive to everything that surrounds them, like a photographic film that is just waiting for the light of a beautiful landscape to fall on it. Even shadows or random clouds cannot affect the quality of the image, it will not be any less beautiful. Likewise, a child never completely succumbs to stress. It is unknown whether it will be better if we protect him from absolutely everything. You just need to be vigilant and not let the little man overcome difficulties on his own that exceed his capabilities. As soon as you notice that your child is overloaded, immediately help him overcome obstacles. This will not be guardianship, but will allow the child to feel a sense of satisfaction from a successfully completed task. This is the best way to avoid stress.

Treatment of stress

Methods of dealing with stress and preventing its occurrence are the same for both adults and children.

Sleep hygiene

Maintaining sleep hygiene implies not only sufficient rest, but also the correct approach to the procedure:

• the bed is intended only for sleeping - not for reading or playing;
• do not overeat;
• reduce mental stress in the evening;
• add physical exercise in the morning and evening, but no later than three hours before going to bed;
• limit computer games before bed;
• dilute the mandatory water procedures before bed with a cool shower (slight cooling helps you fall asleep better).

Kindergarten: stress and adaptation

The most common cause of stress in preschool age is kindergarten. The child was at home for a long time, with his mother, and then he was forced to suddenly change his environment, placed in a certain group, where there were no toys familiar to him, no parents, but only a large number of strangers.

Most parents understand that the first period of adaptation cannot be done without tears. The child cries in the morning, cries in kindergarten, but the teachers say that this is normal and will go away on its own. This is indeed normal, but it is entirely within the parents’ power to help their child get through this period with the least possible losses.

The child needs to be prepared for kindergarten, talk to him more, answer his questions.

• Conversations about parents. It is necessary to explain to the child why mom and dad should work, what money is and why it is needed. Stories exclusively about the fact that there are children in kindergarten and everyone goes there may not work; the child simply will not understand the need for kindergarten. It’s better to talk to him like adults, explain that it simply won’t work out any other way.
• The doctor's consultation. There is no need to neglect the advice of pediatricians and psychologists. If the doctor says that at 1.5-2 years the child is not yet ready for kindergarten, this must be taken into account. Emotional immaturity and an unformed immune system will lead to the fact that the child will often get sick, and instead of working, the mother will constantly take sick leave.
• Eliminate violence. It is not recommended to force a child into kindergarten or threaten him. Every effort must be made to turn this into a game, to explain that you need to go. Some parents use bribery or deception: they promise toys or say that they will bring the child to kindergarten only for half an hour. Such methods are fraught with even more stress and loss of trust.
• Trust your child. If a child says that he is bullied in kindergarten, that he is poorly fed, that teachers talk to him rudely, do not write this off as a lie and an attempt to avoid kindergarten. The child must know that you believe him and will protect him. You need to talk with teachers, other parents, to make sure that good conditions are truly created for your child.
• Don't compare. All children are unique. Therefore, an attempt to shame a child with the phrase “Katya hasn’t cried in kindergarten for a long time, and she’s younger than you!” will not lead to anything good. The child will develop complexes, but he will not be able to overcome his stress.