News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

A new study from the American Psychological Association found that about half of children under 17 years old are feeling enough stress to cause them headaches, difficulty sleeping, and changes in eating habits. Stress levels in children are higher than last year. Researchers believe the increase may be related to the recession and family worries about finances.

The study, which involved more than 1,200 children ages 8 to 17 years old, found the following:

• 30 percent worried about family finances
• 29 percent of teens worry about what will happen after high school
• Nearly half were worried about school related issues.
  
• A third of tweens and 42 percent of teens get headaches
• 39 percent of tweens and 50 percent of teens have difficulty sleeping
• 27 percent of tweens and 39 percent of teens say they eat too much or too little.

The study also found that parents underestimate their childrens stress levels. The APA survey of adults found that they are under much more stress than their children, and experiencing more frequent stress-related symptoms such as headaches, insomnia and stomach problems.

The APA report suggests talking to children about stress. Shielding children from your own worries about unemployment, illness, marital problems, and so forth can actually make them more worried, because children tend to assume worst-case scenarios.

Labels: children, stress, anxiety

Posted By: Aspen/CRC