Children are quite aware of surroundings and pick up on subtle signs that something isn’t quite right. Parents may think they are cleverly covering up problems they are having but children seem to have a sixth sense about stress around them.
The APA "Stress in America" Survey
Each year the American Psychological Association gives a survey each year to measure stress in the adult population in America. This year, the APA surveyed 1,568 adults over the age of 18 about their stress levels.
- 24% of adults in this year’s survey stated they had stress at a high level.
- 51% reported moderate levels of stress.
For the first time, the survey questioned 1,206 youth between the ages of 8 to 17 using an online survey. Harris Interactive reported that
- 36% report they worried more this summer than last summer.
- 30% report they worried about family finances.
The same online survey reported that
- 42% of adults report stress at a higher level in 2009 than 2008,
- 47% of adults reported stress in 2008 than 2007, in comparison,
- 14% of adults stated that their stress decreased.
The survey can not determine if stress is actually decreasing or if the general population is adjusting better to living under stress.
Pediatrician Kenneth Ginsburg, professor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine states, "Children absolutely sense parents’ stress." [1]
Children Have Other Stressors than the Economy
Children have increased pressures to perform in school. No Child Left Behind is pushing children to achieve to higher levels at an earlier age. Kindergarten is no longer a year to learn social skills and play. Many students now leave kindergarten reading. In order to accomplish this, recess times have been decreased and the school day lengthened.
Bullying continues to torment students in the school environment. Cell phones and computers take the bullying from the school into the home after school. Some bully targets find it impossible to escape the effects of bullying because the bullies follow them home into their homes using technology. Some bullying using the Internet has led to an increase in teenage suicides.
If some children have parents experiencing financial stress, are pushed in school to perform higher and higher each year beyond abilities, and are also bullied to some degree in school, the stress levels would be at a serious level. And, yet, in economic downturns, the first personnel cut in schools are the tutors, aides and counselors that make the situation even worse.
[1] Sharon Jayson, USA Today, "Kids ‘absolutely’ feel parents’ stress, 30% worry about finances," Nov. 4, 2009.
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