• 0Shopping Cart
  • About Me
    • Media
  • Coaching
  • Resources
    • Podcasts
    • Guides
    • Workshops
  • Blog
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Help Your Children Cope After a Stressful Situation

August 23, 2022|inAnxiety & Stress

Dr. Linda, since the separation with my husband my baby has been refusing to eat and is really fussy. Could her behavior be because of the separation? isn’t she too young to understand or feel stress?

Unfortunately, the answer is , no, she is not too young! But the good news is that there is a lot you can do to help her through this difficult time!

General guidance for helping children of all ages cope with stress and anxiety

We’ll start very general : Children of different ages tend to have different responses to stress.  It is important you recognize these responses as stress or anxiety so you can manage them in confident, heathy and proactive ways.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you (as an aware, conscious parent) need to do whatever you can to lower the amount of stress your child feels which means that you must take care of yourself also!

The way you manage the stress and anxiety of the situation sets the tone for how your children will cope.

stress

 To help your child cope well with stressful situations at any age, here are  a few general pointers.

  • Take care of yourself and manage your own emotions in healthy ways. Children pick up on your stress and may react to it in addition to reacting to whatever they themselves are feeling. When you use healthy coping skills, not only do you feel calmer and more in control , you are teaching your children by your example productive ways to cope with challenges.
  • If your child is above 2-3 years old, let your child know what is happening depending on their age and level of understanding
  • Teach your children age-appropriate, healthy ways to manage strong emotions and stress.

Signs of ‘stress or anxiety’ in children less than 2 years old

In a traumatic situation, your child may pick up on your stress and the stress other family members are feeling.

They may start showing  stress behaviors in the form of :

  • Fussiness and excessive crying.
  • Decreased appetite.
  • Withdrawal from interacting with you or others
  • Refusing to play with their toys.
  • Sleep problems
  • Excessive clinginess

How to help your young baby manage stress and anxiety

If you notice any of the above signs after a traumatic event following are a few ways you can help your baby feel calmer, more , relaxed and secure:

  • Stay as calm as you can when you are around them. Practice stress relief strategies as often as you can. Remember the calmer you are, the calmer and more secure your baby will feel.
  • Focus your full attention on your child when you are with them to let them know how important they are to you ( turn off your cell phones, social media, etc.) .
  • Give your child as much physical cuddling and holding as you can.
  • Reassure your baby often (in words) that you will take good care of them , even if you don’t think they’ll understand the words . Tell them often how much you love them.
  • Keep your daily routines in place. Routines are very calming and relaxing for babies and young children. Knowing what is going to happen and when, gives them a sense of continuity, of safety and of security in situations that may feel ‘out of control’ to them

Remember, the calmer and more present you are the safer your baby will feel and the less chance there is of their having long terms effects from the traumatic event.

Talking to your children

To help your older toddler and child cope during and after a traumatic situation here is what you need to share with them:

  • What is happening. (In age-appropriate language and detail.)
  • How it will affect them
  • What you are doing to keep them safe or protect them.
  • What others are doing to keep them safe and protect them.
  • How they can help themselves, and, if they are older, how they can help support themselves, your family and their friends.

Whenever you are going to talk to your child take the time to calm yourself first.

Take three deep breaths in through your nose and out through your nose (or mouth). This is a quick, easy way to activate your relaxation response and to calm down yourself.

The calmer and more present you are, the better you will be able to reassure them and the safer they will feel.

How to support your stressed child

The best way to support your child depends on their age and their development. It is very important that you recognize the signs of stress at different ages so you can intervene and help your child in age-appropriate ways.

Generally, children under the age of 2 don’t have the verbal skills to understand the details of what is happening but they do feel stress and act on it.

Also read how to help your 3-5 years old child manage stress and how to help your 6-19 years old child manage stress

To your holistic health and happiness,
Dr. Linda

TagsAdaptation, Anxiety, Appetite, Attention, Cell Phone, Child, Crying, Friends, Infant, Love, Mite Infestations, Parents, Preschool, Psychological, Sleep Wake Disorders, Sleep problems, Social Media, Spouses, Stress management, Trauma, attachment, bonding, comfort, connection, regression, self-care, self-management, stress and anxiety, talking about stressful situations, toddlers
Share this Article
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail

Other Categories

  • Anxiety & Stress (6)
  • Breastfeeding (1)
  • Common Challenges (5)
  • Newborn Care (6)
  • Nutrition (4)

Also Read

  • Homemade Baby FoodPreparing Homemade Baby Food (Best Practices): Part 1July 19, 2022 - 1:31 pm
  • solid foodsSolid Foods, is my baby ready? 4 Types you can start withJuly 18, 2022 - 5:31 pm
  • baby foodBaby Food Advancing: Part 2June 20, 2022 - 3:17 am
  • baby foodBaby Food Advancing: Part 1June 19, 2022 - 3:57 pm

Latest Instagram

كيف نتعامل مع أعراض الإنفلو كيف نتعامل مع أعراض الإنفلونزا من حرارة وسعال وغيرها
#مطعوم_الانفلونزا #مطاعيم #طفلي #انفلونزا #رشح #حرارة #السعودية #الأردن #مصر #قطر #طب_أطفال #طب_الاطفال #askdrlinda
See More Follow Me

Latest TikTok

View on TikTok

Disclaimer

The information in this website is for educational and informational purposes only . It is not meant to be used or relied upon for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Read More

Legal

  • Global Parenting Initiative
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyrights
  • Refund and Returns Policy

Contact

I honor your privacy and your child’s privacy, I will keep any information you send to my contact details strictly confidential

Email drlinda@askdrlinda.com

Whatsapp: +962790055979

Subscribe

© Copyright - Dr. Linda Abu Jaber Made by Mono Media ME
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Rss
8 Self Care Tips After a TraumatraumaStress: Helping your 3-5 year old Manage it
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

AcceptHide

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
AcceptHide Notification
DISCLAIMER
The information in this website is for educational and informational purposes only . It is not meant to be used or relied upon for any diagnostic or treatment purposes.
I Agree

AGREEMENT TO TERMS

These Terms and Conditions constitute a legally binding agreement made between you, whether personally or on behalf of an entity (“you”) and [business entity name] (“we,” “us” or “our”), concerning your access to and use of the [website name.com] website as well as any other media form, media channel, mobile website or mobile application related, linked, or otherwise connected thereto (collectively, the “Site”). 
You agree that by accessing the Site, you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by all of these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with all of these Terms and Conditions, then you are expressly prohibited from using the Site and you must discontinue use immediately.
Supplemental terms and conditions or documents that may be posted on the Site from time to time are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to make changes or modifications to these Terms and Conditions at any time and for any reason. 
We will alert you about any changes by updating the “Last updated” date of these Terms and Conditions, and you waive any right to receive specific notice of each such change. 

It is your responsibility to periodically review these Terms and Conditions to stay informed of updates. You will be subject to, and will be deemed to have been made aware of and to have accepted, the changes in any revised Terms and Conditions by your continued use of the Site after the date such revised Terms and Conditions are posted.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Unless otherwise indicated, the Site is our proprietary property and all source code, databases, functionality, software, website designs, audio, video, text, photographs, and graphics on the Site (collectively, the “Content”) and the trademarks, service marks, and logos contained therein (the “Marks”) are owned or controlled by us or licensed to us, and are protected by copyright and trademark laws and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws of the United States, foreign jurisdictions, and international conventions. 

The Content and the Marks are provided on the Site “AS IS” for your information and personal use only. Except as expressly provided in these Terms and Conditions, no part of the Site and no Content or Marks may be copied, reproduced, aggregated, republished, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, encoded, translated, transmitted, distributed, sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose whatsoever, without our express prior written permission.


Provided that you are eligible to use the Site, you are granted a limited license to access and use the Site and to download or print a copy of any portion of the Content to which you have properly gained access solely for your personal, non-commercial use. We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you in and to the Site, the Content and the Marks.


USER REPRESENTATIONS

You may be required to register with the Site. You agree to keep your password confidential and will be responsible for all use of your account and password. We reserve the right to remove, reclaim, or change a username you select if we determine, in our sole discretion, that such username is inappropriate, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.
You may not access or use the Site for any purpose other than that for which we make the Site available. The Site may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors except those that are specifically endorsed or approved by us. 

PRIVACY POLICY

We care about data privacy and security. Please review our Privacy Policy [CLICK HERE]/posted on the Site]. By using the Site, you agree to be bound by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms and Conditions. Please be advised the Site is hosted in the United States. 
If you access the Site from the European Union, Asia, or any other region of the world with laws or other requirements governing personal data collection, use, or disclosure that differ from applicable laws in the United States, then through your continued use of the Site, you are transferring your data to the United States, and you expressly consent to have your data transferred to and processed in the United States. 
[Further, we do not knowingly accept, request, or solicit information from children or knowingly market to children. Therefore, in accordance with the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, if we receive actual knowledge that anyone under the age of 13 has provided personal information to us without the requisite and verifiable parental consent, we will delete that information from the Site as quickly as is reasonably practical.]
Our Terms & Conditions
I Agree