Many children are affected by different types of stress, and in this article I offer suggestions on how parents can best help their children during these times. They may experience nightmares and lose self-confidence as a result of stress. I hope you found this essay interesting and helpful.
Children who have night terrors
There are a variety of reasons why children might start having nightmares. I have two children, they both woke up sobbing and unhappy at different stages of their lives over the years.
After the Lord of the Rings movie was shown, my son started having nightmares. He had a lot of fun watching the video and expressed a desire to watch it often, even re-enacting some of the combat scenes. The video itself is very long, and he usually watched it alone, as his mother and I were preoccupied with other activities at the time.
I considered the possibility that this photo was the catalyst for him starting to experience these types of nightmares and concluded that it was. I then made a point of sitting with him and watching with him, constantly telling him that the subjects hadn’t died and that they were just faking it. In fact, I made a point of laughing at some of the bloodier moments and making comments like “as if that would ever happen”. That, along with the fact that he could only watch the video once a week, helped put an end to this period of nightmares.
Having nightmares after an illness is not uncommon among children. This can occur after a period of time away from school. They may start to worry about being late at work or being unable to reintegrate into their social circle again. Alternatively, they may be worried that their best friend has made a new best friend.
In this case, I would recommend that you reintroduce the child to the work he was doing before the illness, when the child is feeling well and before returning to school. You can also ask the instructor to provide some of the work the child missed to help them catch up. The night before my son is scheduled to return to school, I personally call the parents of my son’s classmates and ask them to bring their children for dinner and play.
As a result, when my kids are sick, I always tell them not to worry about missing work or worrying about their friends, as they are aware of my work style and procedures.
Children who are under stress
It got to the point where my daughter became anxious because she wasn’t placed in any of the major groups in the many courses she was enrolled in at her school. She felt like a failure and that we would be ashamed of her if we saw her in public. I told her that we were aware of the fact that she was trying her hardest in school and that we would always be proud of her as long as she continued to do her best. After all, not every child has the opportunity to participate in these elite groups.
I reminded her that she was a member of the netball and track teams and tried to persuade her to adopt a more positive frame of mind.
She now understands that even if she thinks she is incapable of doing a certain job, she should still try. When she makes a mistake there will always be someone to point out where she went wrong so she can learn from her mistake and avoid making the same mistake again.
It is critical that we as parents refrain from criticizing our children too often. This can lead them to become fearful of failure and even refuse to do some activities altogether.
Make school work enjoyable to keep them motivated. It is important to praise children as often as possible when they do a task well, as this helps build their self-esteem. Instead of yelling at the child when he is misbehaving, try talking to him as if he were an adult instead of a child.
Finally, I always strive to treat my own children fairly and calmly, no matter how old they are. If they don’t get perfect grades in school, I want them to know that I’m proud of them, regardless of their performance. If they’re having nightmares, I want to find out why they’re having them and interrupt whatever pattern is happening for them. I make an effort to find out what each child is worried about and then help them find a solution to their problem.
