How Children Cope with Stress at the Daycare Centre
Adults can sometimes be a little unaware of how stress can affect children.
For the typical daycare centre, childhood stresses can be visible and they might require partnership with parents to resolve.
The daycare centre and visible childhood stress
Most daycare centres will have had the experience of seeing children apparently suffering from stress.
They are not medically qualified to perform a diagnosis but there are some classic warning signs. These might include children showing relatively sudden signs of:
- inexplicable behavioural changes. Examples might include bad temper outbursts, aggression towards others, distress and crying over minor issues, etc.;
- evidence of a regression in development, such as seemingly going backwards in reading skills or art;
- hyperactivity or by contrast, unusually low energy and interest levels;
- a reluctance to communicate with friends and care providers or engage in group activities.
The causes of stress may be many and varied
Some children are simply more sensitive and emotionally vulnerable than others. That might mean that what seems like a relatively trivial incident or two to adults, can have a major emotional impact on the child. A simple argument with a friend or a fright with a pet can have a significant, if usually very temporary, effect on some sensitive children.
Most causes though are typically more profound and might include things such as:
- bereavement in the family;
- friction/conflict with siblings;
- family divorces, separations or other pressures at home;
- bullying by other children in their circle of friends at home;
- a suppressed fear that they’re not keeping up with other children in games, art, reading or other early learning centre activities.
Of these or other possible causes, anything that has its origins in the early learning centre environment will usually be spotted and quickly resolved by the centre’s personnel.
Childhood stress
Although it is dangerous to generalise, on the whole, children will tend to ‘internalise’ the causes of their stress and not talk about them. It’s not unusual to find that they’re also consciously unaware of what the causal factors are.
This is relatively common also in adults but children especially may find it difficult to analyse what’s making them stressed and therefore subsequently to share and discuss that with others. Many conclude that whatever the cause is, it is somehow ‘their fault’.
It can be difficult or impossible for people outside of the family to discover the true nature of the problem and sometimes even families need the assistance of a doctor or qualified child development specialist to find exactly what the stress drivers are.
The role of the early learning centre
Just like adults, children can sometimes have a bad day or two. A child not being quite themselves for a day or so is a perfectly normal occurrence and usually of no significance.
Where the apparent problems are seemingly ongoing and assuming that there is no obvious cause in the care centre itself, the centre’s personnel will draw their concerns to parents’ attention as soon as possible.
Usually, a discussion between the parents and child quickly identifies the cause and resolves the issue. Where necessary, parents can also seek the help of a doctor with a quick examination to ensure that there are no physical causes. There are also excellent counselling services available where specialists are skilled in helping to understand the causes of a child’s stress.
