What To Do If My Child Is Stressed?

There can be times when exam and daily stresses/challenges may be too much for your child. Parents should be on the lookout for early warning signs of stress in your child so that support can be rendered to help him/her cope better.

When we are stressed, we:

• have difficulty sleeping well through the night
• lose appetite
• feel tired out and/or anxious most of the time
• have frequent headaches
• find it hard to concentrate
• lose interest in usual activities

Here are 3 tips:

1) Reach out to your child: Accept your child’s emotions and encourage him/her to talk about his/her feelings as well as share problems with you. Respect how he/she feels about a situation, even if it does not make sense to you and try not to dismiss it. Ask questions to help your child talk about it. E.g. “That must have been really disappointing, do you want to talk about it?”

2) Offer support: You can help your child feel better just by being there - keeping him or her company and spending time together. Take a walk, watch a movie, play basketball, or bake some cookies. Come up with a ‘secret handshake’ that only you and your child will know. When your child is feeling down, he/she can do this secret handshake with you to let you know; and be reminded that he/she is not alone!

3) Encourage help-seeking: Encourage your child to approach their school teachers, CCA teachers, school counsellor, friends, siblings, a close relative, or yourself for support and advice. These people can give positive moral support and encouragement to him/her. Your child can also write in to the Counsellor’s Mailbox (located in the school canteen). The form-teacher or school counsellor will attend to your child’s issues and monitor him/her. If your child is still exhibiting signs and symptoms of stress, talk to your child’s school teacher or counsellor.

Written by: Ms Phun Win Lin, School Counsellor