Moms Talk: Handling Childhood Stress

Ah, the carefree days of childhood. As a parent with a bird’s eye view, it seems life isn’t as carefree for children as it was years ago, when we were children.

I’ve talked about this issue with a number of friends over the past 14 years I’ve spent parenting. One friend said that when she was a child, her family just didn’t do all the things children do nowadays. Homework was minimal and project work didn’t really start until middle school. Extra-curricular activities like sports weren’t considered because living outside the city, her mom would have had to drive her, which just wasn’t feasible with only one family car.

But life has changed and moved on. Much has been written about today’s over-scheduled children but today let’s discuss general childhood stress.

School projects, homework, extra-curricular activities, competitions, minor or major changes in family situations, disagreements between mom and dad or brothers and sisters are all things that can cause stress for children.

Some friends and I discussed this issue, over the phone and over the Internet.

One friend’s family is facing a big change – moving to another state. To help her three children handle the stress of the situation, she’s been talking to them about it, walking them through what to expect and asking how they’re feeling about things, checking in with them.

More than one of my mom friends said that they spend some time at the end of the day, one-on-one with each child, talking about things.

In my family, we also talk about things, usually over dinner or night time snacks. Sometimes, though, it seems the best thing I can do is to make them go outside and play, even if it's just with the dog, some time that will allow them to smile and just have fun, forgetting about any problems.

One website offers some helpful tips, and not surprising, high on the list was talking with your children, followed by listening to your children.

Please, join the conversation.