The high school students may face a certain level of stress in their academic and personal life owing to the environmental and other influencing factors. When unattended it may lead to dire consequences.
So, it is recommended to be proactive in helping the high school child to cope up with the stress by understanding the causes and ruling out them at a bud stage.
Let us have a walkthrough here.
High school students face stress in one or the other way.
When the events or circumstances that trigger stress gets repeated, the students may find it difficult to manage the feelings and can become toxic at a physical or emotional level in due course.
As a consequence, the parents and the teachers may witness certain unacceptable behaviors of the children, unexpected change in academic performance, and so forth. Since the age also plays a key role in emotions, it is recommended to watch out for the short-term behaviors of the children and help them.
The tips explained here would serve the parents and teachers to understand the stress symptoms, either short-term or chronic and follow strategies to help the child overcome the same.
To beat the stress, let us understand the cause and symptoms of stress here.
Causes of stress in High school students:
Making friends:
The students may not have a closed peer group to play or study. They may step back to make friends in fear of bullying or complex feeling.
Earning grades:
As the students take up higher classes, a few may find it difficult to cope up with the study challenges. It’s quite acceptable too in certain cases. For instance, a new environment due to a parents job transfer, switching the language medium, family issues, and, etc.
Parent pressure:
Generally, the parents may put pressure on the child to score high marks, as high school marks decide their future admission in select colleges. The children may have some other college or course in their mind or maybe indecisive of course or college.
Romantic relationship:
A few students may be anxious enough to get into a romantic relationship with classmates, neighbors, or relatives. Bullying at school friends level, hiding things from elders in fear of getting caught up, and unnecessary turmoils in the small minds may lead to stress.
These are the main causes of stress that we can expect from a normal high school student.
Symptoms of Stress in High School Students:
The student becomes restless in school or at home. A few of the symptoms include:
Digestive disorders:
The student may find digestive disorders like overeating, nausea, indigestion, skipping meals, and, etc.
Mood Variations:
The student may feel depressed, sad, moody, abusive, isolated, or keep worrying.
Behavioral changes:
The student may find difficult to cope up with parents and friends and avoid elders or friends, lie to teachers, get angry or aggressive, may cut class, ignore normal chores.
Study habits change:
The student may hate homework, fail to complete assignments and then lie to the teacher or the parent, cut classes, feel a headache. And, finally may fail in the exam.
Related stress disorders:
Sometimes, the things may get unmanageable and lead to an unpleasant outcome. A few of the disorders include depression, panic disorder, sleep disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or addiction.
These are some of the correlated behavioral or attitudinal changes and its influence on performance level we can witness in the children. Let us see how parents and teachers can help the child to cope up with.
Let us understand how parents can help to beat stress in high school in this Part-1.
How Parents Can Help Beat Stress In Their High School Child:
- Talk to your child: If you ignore small things your child might want to share with you, they may ignore you for big things to share with you later on.
So, it is necessary to talk with your child even it may feel trivial for you at the moment. Listen to their jokes, funny activities, excellence in academics, interests in other activities, and so forth.
Talking to you frequently help them to avoid anxiety being getting built up inside. It relieves them from unnecessary squeezed in thoughts and keeps them happy.
- Help your child with studies: Exam pressure is felt both by the students and parents as well. Instead of worrying or freaking out, sit with your child and help them with academics. Do not scold them or make them feel inferior in case they fail in a subject or two. Instead, help them to understand the subject and score marks in the next coming tests/exams. Help them to usemobile apps for revision.
- Say ok if their room is messy: It’s ok to say yes if their room is messy instead of nagging or scolding them. Though making them do small things is appreciated and expected, it need not be the benchmark or a reason to scold.
Its fine to be messy when they are busy with a unit test or exam tasks.
- Be affectionate: It is necessary to pour love and be affectionate always with them. Sometimes, the child may not be stressed at all. Still, it is necessary to show your support, affection, and assure them you are always there by your side.
- Help them to stay healthy: Help your child to cultivate good habits regarding their food, exercise, and spending free time. Help them with their sleep-study cycle, and keep a watch over their food habits and relax time.
- Do not compare: Never compare or be abusive regarding your child’s performance with siblings or other students. Every child is gifted and excels in their in their own way.
Provide them moral support always. Help them with their mood swings, adolescent curiosity, and tackle things in a positive way.
- Help your child with a career choice: Every child is gifted. They need not work or put efforts on the career of your choice or the trending ones always.
Listen to their interest, and try to shape their career as per their ambition, capability, and skill. There are lots of options for career and earnings. You can always suggest them the best career and at the same time support their interests too.
Conclusion:
This is how a parent can help their child to beat stress. A healthy and friendly home environment, moral support is all that you need to give your child to make a difference in their life and career. Nothing less than this.
Watch out for our next blog “Help Your Student Beat Stress in High School – Parent Teacher Guide II”,
where we discuss more how teachers can help beat stress in high school students.
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