Stress is a natural part of life. But for young children, it can be challenging to cope with. Many factors contribute to stress in a child’s life, some of which include schoolwork, social pressures, and family dynamics.

Childhood stress and anxiety can affect children in various ways. The severity, frequency, and duration of the symptoms will vary from child to child. Your child may be struggling with behaviors that seem extreme for the situation. Maybe they are lashing out at peers, or they may be having frequent tantrums and meltdowns at home or school. Dealing with a child’s anxiety can be exhausting and stressful, both for the parents and the child.

We don’t want our children to feel stressed and anxious. We want our children to feel safe and secure. It can be painful to watch them experience a sense of powerlessness in the face of stress, anxiety, or fear, and it can add to our own stress, making us worry that there’s nothing we can do for them, but that isn’t true!

We need answers so that we can help our kids with the stress they’re experiencing. Once you understand what their worries are, you can help them find coping skills that will make it easier for them to manage their feelings.

Why is My Child Feeling Stressed and Anxious?

Childhood anxiety is not uncommon. There are numerous reasons your child may be feeling stress or anxiety. Whether your child is experiencing separation anxiety when they first start school, dealing with unresolved stress and social anxiety around school expectations, or developed an anxiety disorder later in their teenage years, there are some common underlying reasons for your child’s feelings of stress and anxiety.

Here are a few of the most common causes of stress and anxiety.

Too Much Screen Time for Young Children

Screen-time provides intense sensory stimulation for all people but is especially intense for young children as their brains develop rapidly. The bright and blue-toned light from screens can cause fatigue, headaches, and eyestrain if too much exposure occurs. Media multitasking overstimulates and triggers the brain into a stress response.

Interactive content increases sensory input, which can be a good thing but can also cause overstimulation. Electromagnetic radiation is emitted from long-term exposure, which stimulates the brain into a stress response. These factors aggravate the sensory system. They behave like fuel to the nervous system, especially when it can’t get information to and from the brain properly. (This is when a specially trained chiropractor is crucial.)

When the sensory system is overstimulated, it triggers the fight or flight response. This leads to changes in your child’s behavior, like meltdowns or tantrums, emotional outbursts, and sometimes elopement or shutting down. 

A Fast-Paced Lifestyle

Research has shown that today’s fast-paced lifestyle can have adverse effects on children. According to the American Psychological Association, more than 15 million children in the United States are eligible for a diagnosis of a mental health disorder, including anxiety disorders, panic disorder, and depression.

Our society puts a tremendous amount of pressure on children and parents today. Our children are expected to excel in academics, participate in extracurricular activities, sit quietly through school, church, and family dinners, get summer jobs, keep up with friends and social trends, and so many other things.

Yet as parents, we aren’t always equipped with the proper tools to guide school or social stress. We haven’t taught our children how to exist without cell phones and tablets and technology, and we’re constantly shuttling them from activity to activity. No wonder our children feel anxious!

This fast and overwhelming lifestyle can lead to negative thoughts, panic attacks, separation anxiety, and many other symptoms of anxiety in young people.

Inadequate Sleep Patterns

The combination of too much screen time and an “always on the go” lifestyle can lead to inadequate sleep patterns, which can cause symptoms of anxiety and other sorts of other physical symptoms.

Our bodies need sleep in order for our brains to recharge. Sleep is when the brain does its ‘resetting’. During sleep is when muscles grow and develop. It is crucial for children to get an adequate amount of sleep so their bodies and brains can develop properly. Without enough sleep it harder for kids to learn, and fatigue can exacerbate a child’s anxiety.

Food Sensitivities, Dyes, & Chemicals

Food is the fuel for our bodies, and we all know that we need food for our bodies to grow and to provide us with energy. But we have to eat the right foods in order to fuel our bodies appropriately. Dyes, pesticides, and preservatives that are added to our food are not fueling our bodies. 

Dyes make food look more appealing by giving it a richer, deeper color. Preservatives are added to food to give it a longer shelf-life. So, it prevents the food from breaking down, both on the shelf and inside the body for digestion. But these unnatural additions to our foods can cause health problems and can even compound anxiety disorders.

This is something to consider when we’re thinking of our children’s growing bodies and how to fuel them. Aim to serve as many natural, unprocessed foods as possible to help your child grow strong and healthy.

Sugar

We’ve had the opportunity to work with many children over the years that are extremely hyperactive. They love sugar so much that they will fight, scream, and yell to get it. They know that if they do this, most times their parents will give in to their demands.  

So why is sugar so bad?

Sugar and stimulants amp up your child’s brain like a drug. Sugars are chemicals, and the body and brain treat them like stimulants. The two most common signs that your child may have too much sugar in their diet is that they don’t listen well, and they don’t appear to have control over their actions, which may result in unwanted behavior at home or school.

The developmental long-term effects on the nervous system are that the child tends to prefer over-stimulating activities. They seek the stimulation in a similar way that those who suffer from drug dependency seek the rush of taking a drug. They search for over-stimulating, dangerous situations due to a constant want for outside sensory input.

So, what happens if your child stops consuming so much sugar?

The good news is, when we stop eating, drinking, and consuming stimulants like sugar and caffeine our brains will adapt and become more relaxed, thus overall reducing anxiety and worry.

Confrontation

We can all handle a limited amount of stress and anxiety. In fact, some stress is normal and considered good. Eustress is the type of stress you feel when you are excited. But if your child is already under a lot of stress, when parents, family members, or teachers complain or gets upset with them, it can overwhelm them and cause even more stress and anxiety in a situation that may not normally elicit such a response.

In heightened situations like these, kids may not know how to cope or respond to the situation. Some kids may become explosive. Consider that your child’s brain may be perceiving the situation as dangerous or a traumatic experience, and your child may truly be feeling extreme fear or anxiety.

If your child’s sensory system isn’t properly functioning, even if the situation is safe, their brain may not pick up on this and their behavior response may not seem normal. Understanding this fight or flight response is key in parenting. As you come to understand this, try to give your child some grace in tense situations.

Helping Our Kids Deal with the Emotional and Physical Symptoms of Anxiety and Stress

Our brains were made to develop in a manner of repetition and progression. If we interrupt that process and we try to help our kids when their brain is not ready for the next step in development, we can end up causing more harm than good.

We need to master one step at a time for our nervous system to progress properly. Repetition, progression, and proper information are the key to the development and growth of a child. The goal is to provide an environment for our children’s brains to relax, be calm, be successful in school, and begin to be more social.

Chiropractic care is a great option to help children relieve anxiety disorders, a common mental health problem in children.

After chiropractic care, we see time and time again that children’s true personalities begin to show through. Making friends becomes easier.  Children are able to focus more because their sensory system is functioning correctly, leading to better school outcomes. They can sit still and pay attention! They begin to feel less anxious, and we see a reduction in fear and social anxiety.

As your child gets more chiropractic adjustments and progresses through their care plan, you may notice they seem to miraculously handle transitions better. They’ll begin to find more healthy ways to cop with the stress and anxiety of everyday life. What a beautiful thing to watch!!

If you want to talk about your child and their struggles, contact us here and let us know what’s going on. Helping kids like yours is what we do best, and you’ll see that it not only helps your child but your entire family!

ADIO Chiropractic in Madison, WI

If you’d like to schedule an appointment to discuss childhood anxiety, submit the appointment request form here and we’ll be in touch!