As a parent, it can be hard to put yourself back into the frame of mind of a youngster. When your children seem to be overly stressed, it can be easy to wonder why. After all, in your mind, you were so carefree at that age – how do they know what stress is?
However, if you want to help your children rather than hinder them, focus on the following signs that show your children are stressed out and need support, not scolding.
They are isolated from the family
While not every family sits together and eats dinner and/or does every activity as a group, there are limits to isolation. Your child might enjoy playing video games or reading in isolation, and that is fine. But when they seem to only emerge from their room to go to the toilet and/or pick up food? That is probably a sign of stress.
They appear to be eating more/less
If your child starts eating a lot more than they used to or eating a lot less, you might want to find out why. In an otherwise unchanged personality, it could simply be a change in their appetite as they age. Talk to them about why they are eating so much/little, though; do not make it a problem, simply ask questions and do a little bit of digging. The more that you can find out now, the easier it is to formulate a meaningful solution that helps them to come out to the other side.
They are staying up later than before
You might ask your children to go to bed, but most parents don’t exactly stand there waiting until they doze off. If you find yourself going to the toilet during the night and your kid is still up, you should probably find out why they aren’t sleeping. This is especially concerning if they seem to have nightmares when they do manage to fall asleep.
They lack any social interaction
The main red flag is if you notice your child is not interacting with others. Friends stop coming to the door or ringing the phone; they have not heard playing games online or chatting on their phones. You notice they stop having any kind of personal or digital interaction with others. If you spot that problem, you should make it a priority to ask your child what is wrong.
All of these issues need to be handled with care; do not make them out to be a problem, or as if your child is in the wrong. Find out why these behaviors are forming, though, and you can do something meaningful about it.