Definition of Childhood Stress: Stress can broadly be defined as a condition or situation that places a demand on the body’s physical, mental, or emotional energy. Even though moderate stress disturbs the body’s homeostasis as a person tries to cope with life’s constant changes, it builds the body’s immunity to some extent if properly managed. On the other hand extreme stress conditions, especially those experienced by children, can be detrimental to health in the long run.

Childhood stress causes:Children all over the world grow up suffering from mild to severe stress for various reasons—being bullied, falling out with friends, school tests, viewing violence on screen, domestic violence and with increasing divisive forces in the world, children are even teased and bullied for adult reasons such as caste and creed in some parts of the world. The rising influence of media influences children watching TV serials and fashion shows with skinny models, to live on adult levels prematurely.

Graphic details of terror and war leave some kids shell-shocked as while witnessing the Taj terror and the injured kids in the Israel-Gaza violence on TV.  Concurrently it even spurs some of them to play violent computer and video games like Doom, Mortal Kombat and the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series.

Children face acute emotional stress because they are vulnerable and cannot wield control over a worrying or frightening situation that they fear can harm them. Some children experience acute physical stress when forced into child labor and made to perform difficult tasks that take a toll on their physical, mental and emotional health.

Be it the children of divorced parents or over ambitious parents, children of poor parents or orphans whose tender hands roll tobacco for beedis (cheap cigarettes), work in dungeons weaving intricate designs in exquisite carpets or double stitching football seams, or cleaning tables, mopping floors or washing dishes in restaurants, or doing manual labor in building sites or working in brothels to please pedophiles—the stress is definitely there, in varying degrees of intensity.

Symptoms of Childhood Stress

Symptoms of stress include stomach aches, headaches, bed wetting, cold and sweaty hands, temper tantrums, depression, anxiety disorders, grinding teeth, irritability, nervousness, emotional withdrawal and many others. It is imperative that parents, elders or guardians recognize these stress symptoms and address the stressful situation so that the child gets to lead a normal, happy life.

Stress from Environmental Factors

A study that appeared in the Nov/Dec issue of Child Development found secure relationships with parents and teachers protect children from rising cortisol levels in stressful situations. The study suggested that care givers in childcare facilities sometimes increased kids’ stress levels. According to medical experts the sudden spike in cortisol, a stress hormone is of grave concern because frequent increase of cortisol levels can have a negative impact on health.

A study supported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, suggests that pathogenic effects of stress caused by a traumatic childhood experience including sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical and emotional neglect can interact with other risk factors and trigger chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms during adulthood by affecting the central nervous system, neuroendocrine system and immune systems.