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Children Have Stress?

© Karen Cabiac

Teachers of Early Childhood, which includes infancy up through age 5, know that it is important to sit on the floor and kneel and crawl on the ground in order to get a better understanding of how the world appears to the young child. In order to understand your subject (children) you have to see the world as they do and be able to communicate with them on a simple level. We often exclaim how amazing it is that children are so resilient - they take everything in stride and bounce back from experiences that would send adults into a fit. At least it appears that way to our adult eyes, but we have lost the fragile, innocent, untainted eye of the child.

I have been struggling to gather resources concerning young children and stress. It has, so far, proven to be a fruitless enterprise so I will "editorialize" on the subject and continue to search for web site information which may be of use to you, but as of this writing, I have no "sites" to offer on the subject.

Some of you may think that the idea of children being under stress sounds a little absurd. Of course, we all understand that children who have survived traumatic experiences, such as severe abuse or the loss of one or both parents, would obviously suffer effects of stress. However, what about the "everyday kid"? The kid who enjoys playing with toys, shooting baskets, watching the television, and who is an expert at driving their parents NUTS. This is just the "normal" kid. What kind of "stress" could they possibly be under?

Take a few moments to close your eyes and think back to your childhood days. Did you have any worries, any fears? Of course you did. Childhood is a time of exploration and learning, everything is new and strange, people talk to you and you don't know what they are saying, what they want. I remember there were times when I was asked to do something without much of an explanation as to how to do it. I would be very confused and even afraid to ask for clarification as to EXACTLY what I was doing.

A small child is carrying an object that Mom doesn't want him to have at the moment. She says "put it down" and the child drops it right then and there. Well, that's not exactly what Mom had in mind, but that is how the child understands the situation.

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