How your Stress Hurts your Children
Posted on 13th February 2023 at 19:52
Most of us are already aware of the harmful effects of divorce on children. It can make children feel worried, insecure and lead to lack of trust and faith in their marriage in the future. Sometimes divorce can actually be beneficial for some families because the prolonged stress and anxiety resulting from fights can harm your children more than a definite break.
According to a recent American Psychological Association study done with 2000 adults and children, 90 percent of the children were aware that there were problems in the family and that their parents were stressed because they often saw them quarrelling, complaining and blaming each other. This results in parents spending less time with their children due to their increasing stress, anger and irritability. This will ultimately, make the children feel sad and frustrated because they aren’t exactly getting the amount of attention they require and deserve.
One third of the children reported to have stress-related issues such as tummy aches and headaches due to their parents fighting all the time. With the economic instability and unemployment on the rise, bickering parents is a common problem, but it is important that parents argue responsibly and focus on their children too, no matter how problematic their lives may be.
Focus on yourself, before your kids
You have to make sure you are aware of how you react when you are stressed and worried. No matter how hard you try to contain your feelings, your kids will get negative vibes from you if you don’t give them quality time. Anxiety and stress are contagious and can effect children too even though they may not know any better. This will result in long-term behavioural problems which may be detrimental to their health. Prolonged stress can actually increase their risk of diabetes, depression and heart disease when they grow up so act responsibly in front of your kids.
Be a good role model
Think quality over quantity. As much as you should spend time with your children, it is also important that you give yourself some quality time doing something relaxing too, such as listening to music, taking a walk, yoga or even giving yourself an at-home spa treatment. Once you are at peace with yourself, spend time with your children. Teach your children to manage stress through effective breathing. Let them know that if they ever feel worried, they should fill their minds with happy thoughts while breathing deeply for 10 seconds and engage in activities you think your kids would enjoy, like playing catch. The endorphins released from physical activity will kick away their stress in no time.
Make sure you play with your kids too. This will de-stress you and your kids. Your kids will get the attention they need and they will finally feel that you are happy as opposed to spending hours doing sedentary activities like watching TV.
Tagged as: Stress
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