Parents Cause Children's Stress
A primary school
counselor says she knows young people are not immune to stress so she's
developed an eight-week "stress management and confidence-building" seminar
for second graders, The New York Times reports.
Once a week
for 45 minutes, a half-dozen 7- and 8-year-olds referred by their teachers
or parents gather around her conference table.
Surrounded
by books and colorful puppets, they practice relaxation techniques and
learn the power of positive thinking.
The goal? To
help them "find that quiet on the inside," says Mary Minner.
In a world
where inner quiet is all too rare, much has been written about children
and stress, particularly since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
However, even
before that, the self-help shelves of bookstores brimmed with volumes devoted
to helping youngsters overcome trauma, be it divorce, serious illness or
the death of a loved one.
Far less attention
has been paid to helping young people cope with day-to-day stresses like
taking tests, competing in sports, being invited to the right birthday
parties and fending off playground bullies.
Childhood,
said Dr. Georgia Witkin, director of the Stress Program at the Mt. Sinai
School of Medicine in New York City, is more stressful than ever, but not
for the reasons that most people think.
"The assumption
has been that we are overloading kids with activities and demands and that
was the major stress," says Witkin, who surveyed nearly 1,000 children
from 5 to 11 for her book "KidStress."
"Children feel
stress not because they are overbooked, but because their parents are."
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