How Parents stress affects Child?

Parents stress and child 

The urban life styles today requires double income families more due to tacky job situations and consumerism. Thus due to both parents working, the kids are increasingly being left over with either grand-parents or outside institutions to be take care off. So let alone the family with single parent, even in the common households children face stress as they spend time at after-school child care or at home alone. So as the parents struggle with work and home chores, kids struggle with caring for themselves. To add to this parents stress is stressful for kids as well. How? 





Parents are first teachers:


As parents we spend lot of time thinking what is best for our kids, enrolling them in best schools, best after school care, weekend programs. But what we forget is that kids are great observers they learn everything they see. They see how we run around all day, multitask, and handle our relations. They also see surprise, anger, pride and how we react to different situations.  What they learn every day by only watching cannot be filtered but as parents it is upon us to help them see, how we feel various emotions and how to tackle them. So tackling parental stress is as important for parent as for the child.

As they say Like Father Like Son, Like mother like daughter, The age old saying which means that son tend to do what their fathers did before them



Living a fast life
The everyday rush is in a way incorporated in todays’ life.  As morning routines must be rushed, kids have to be rushed to school. School life these days is stressed due to various reasons. Then kids after return are either overscheduled with homework and play activities or busy with screen time. So in this fast life when do they rest? How do they relax or get over with their daily stress?

Stress and Enjoyment
An Unhappy mother is an unhappy family is another age old saying

When parents live stress, Kids feel it too. If you are a parent who is continuously in stress conditions, but still you manage to keep a smile and happy face in front of kids, It is very brave of you. But not helpful as your stress is bottled and It will hold you back from enjoying life. You will be tending to child with heavy heart and a fake smile. Calm mind is base of healthy living, freeing your mind of stress for being happy is as important as eating healthy food for good body

Stress and Anger
Stress and anger mostly intertwined.  When a person is stressed anger finds its way. Being tempered, hostile and sarcastic are common symptoms which start affecting our daily life. A person who may not be much stressed but vents his anger more often is not so bad for self but not so good for child. Competitive and workaholic parents many a time carry the stress baggage at home also, And lot many times forget child needs love more than discipline and food.

Parenting and patience
Parents as everyone else can be stressed and angry, but as adults know how to control and express emotions. Children however are slow to understand and process and most of the times cannot tell us how they are feeling but give us some signs. When parents are stress, it is difficult for them to focus their mind on understanding what child is trying to tell. Parents may often just react to the child’s behavior very strongly but we forget Parents as adults have developed a mechanism and are able to manage stress, but most children experience difficulty in handling emotions. Parenting requires lot of patience and stress management

Depressed Parenting
Depressed Parents are less loving and nurturing, and very moody and inconsistent towards children. Parent’s state of mind has immediate effect on children. Depressed parents are likely to have kids who have anxiety, depression and academic difficulties. 


Parenting might be difficult and in itself stressful at times, but having stress free happy kids is worth effort. So for parents de-stressing every now and then is important to raise happy and positive kids. Parents who handle their stress well, are able to support kids better. 


Do read my previous posts on how to de-stress - 

Parenting- How to stop worrying

40 Quick tips to De-stress

                                                                    - Spell and Charm