How Your Stress can Negatively Affect Your Children?

Your children can sense and absorb your stress which can cause negative effects on their growth and development. Therefore, it is very important to build cheerful and stress free environment when you are with your kids. Let us take a look at how your stress can negatively affect your children.Stress is a common by-product of daily life. Whether you are working outside or inside the house, you are bound to develop stress. Stress can arise due to several reasons; it can be failings in your professional life, some trouble you are having to deal with or lack of mental peace.When people are stressed, they try to channel the frustration they feel in some way. It has been found out that parents often wrongly channel it on their kids. If the kid is misbehaving many a times the parents punish them in ways harsher than required, this is one of the common ways parents channel stress. But your stress can have negative effects on your child. Here are some of them. In this articleDevelopment of ADHDChildren’s Growth is Hampered Immunity Gets AffectedDevelopment of Bad BehaviourSelf Confidence of Children is HamperedDevelopment of ADHDIf your spouse or you are stressed during pregnancy the effects of that stress can be imprinted on your child’s DNA. Studies have shown if there is a stressful atmosphere in the house when the mother is pregnant, the children are seen to have ADHD or such disorders from their childhood. The stress that mother feels transfers into the DNA of the child. The child in the womb might even become unresponsive if the mother is overly stressed. Prenatal stress is extremely harmful to the unborn child.Children’s Growth is Hampered If there is parental stress it has been seen that inevitably the child’s mental and physical growth is stunted. Children subjected to daily stress in the house tend to mature slowly as compared to other children. Their physical development is stunted, their mental development like the ability to talk, understand things that are said to them come at an age that is not normal. Children might be permanently affected too, developing speech disorders or growth problems. Later in life, they might suffer from asthma, hypertension and similar problems.Immunity Gets Affected It has been seen that children who have to suffer parental stress are more frequently ill. They tend to be affected at the slightest of things. Even a little cold can make them fall sick. The reason behind this is that children absorb the parental stress that is manifested in the house. Stress decreases the immunity power of adults and kids alike. Given how children have lesser immunity power than adults, i.e. theirs are not as well developed as adults, the stress they absorb destroys their immunity and they fall sick more often than other children.Development of Bad BehaviourParental stress affects children’s behaviour too. It has been seen that the children in families which have parental stress start being fussy from 6 months of age. They are easily irritated and cry more than other babies. This carries on when they grow up and their bad behaviour persists. They become adamant, stubborn kids who tend to get annoyed very easily. The stress that they absorb at home is in turn channelized by them on fellow classmates in school. They fight with kids to relieve stress and often as the start approaching their adolescence take-up bad habits like drinking and smoking.Self Confidence of Children is HamperedThe worst part is when parents use their children as an outlet for stress release. Many parents beat up their children or are extremely harsh towards them. They do not appreciate their children’s efforts and are always agitated. This shatters your child’s self confidence and self esteem. In time they begin to detest you and defy you. It harms the beautiful parent-child relationship.If you have a stressful life and feel that it is affecting your child, you should consider the idea of taking counselling. Parents most often try but are not able to deal with their stress; such parents should definitely go to a counsellor. A counsellor can suggest ways in which you can handle your stress and prevent your child from getting affected.Why do some parents take out stress and frustration on their children? What are the harmful effects of stress and tension in family on children? Why should parents avoid taking out stress on children? Discuss here.