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No thanksDavid’s Stressful Morning
David was feeling very proud of himself as he walked into his 4 th grade classroom one Thursday morning. He had an exciting evening the night before because his basketball team had just won their championship game. David got eight baskets and contributed significantly to the team’s win.
Shortly after he sat down at his desk, the teacher asked the students to put away their books and take out a piece of paper. The teacher decided to give a pop quiz on the homework from the previous evening. Due to his basketball game, David had no time to do his homework. His vision blurred as he tried to think about the homework topic. His thoughts came quickly, like cars whizzing by on a highway. He began to panic because he didn’t know what to do. How could he fail a test? It would ruin his grade average. His parents would probably not let him play basketball on weeknights ever again.
He broke out into a cold sweat, his hands started to shake, it became hard to breathe normally, and his heart was pounding. David heard the teacher say, “Put your name on the sheet of paper and fold it in half; number the left side from one to ten and right side from eleven to twenty.” He looked around the room. His classmates were busy filling out the piece of paper.
The teacher then said, “Now fold the paper in half, and in half again, then in quarters, and throw it in the garbage.” David could not believe what his teacher was saying. He did not understand why she was tricking the class. Then she said, “Now you know what stress is!” Realizing what had happened and relieved as he threw away the paper, David sank into his seat, exhausted.
So what exactly is stress?
Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we get used to our changing environment. Stress can affect your physical health by increasing your heart rate, raising your blood pressure, producing muscular tension, or making a person irritable or depressed.
It is obvious that according to this story of David, children are also vulnerable to stress and respond to stress in a variety of ways. Therefore, stress affects everyone regardless of gender, age, ethnic background, occupation, or activity.
Source: Teaching Children About Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach by Estelle Weinstein, Efrem Rosen
Adult versus Childhood Stress:
The major difference between adult and childhood stress is that children do not know how to control the situations that cause them stress, as adults often do. Their emotional pain is no less intense than adults, but they have less understanding and less control over it – making them more vulnerable to it. Children also lack the life experience that adults have to fall back on.
Source: Teaching Children About Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach by Estelle Weinstein, Efrem Rosen
Good stress, which is called Eustress, comes from situations that are energizing, exciting, or simply pleasurable such as winning a game, getting a good grade or feeling excitement about a good book. Good stress can motivate people, especially children, to reach their goals or complete tasks.
Bad stress is called Distress. This type of stress can lead to physical or psychological overload if it keeps happening without any relief. Bad stress can be potentially harmful if it continues.
Source: Teaching Children About Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach by Estelle Weinstein, Efrem Rosen
