Text Box: Today, more and more children are exhibiting considerable signs of stress, particularly with respect to education. For many children, this higher level of stress seems to be directly interfering with their ability to learn. In addition, children predisposed to conditions like ADD or ADHD are especially susceptible to the effects of stress. These children are twice as likely to abuse alcohol and drugs and four times likely to get in trouble with law enforcement. Of even greater concern is that these higher levels of stress seem to be occurring at earlier and earlier ages. Many children as young as 5 or 6 years old are exhibiting the effects of higher levels of stress. Under the “No Child Left Behind Act” and the mistaken belief that learning earlier is better, more children are being forced to accept greater academic responsibilities, even as early as 3 and 4 years old. Many members of the American Pediatrics Association have subsequently spoken out against the “No Child Left Behind Act” because of the physical and emotional toll it seems to be taking on many or our children. When a child (or adult) is under stress, his ability to store, process and recall information is greatly reduced. His ability to respond thoughtfully with reason and logic may also be impaired. He may have difficulty focusing or paying attention in class. While this hyper-alert, reactive mode may be appropriate to activities such as snow-boarding, skate-boarding or playing video games, it does not serve a child well in the classroom. The long-term effects of stress can be debilitating and even dangerous. Children often develop a negative attitude towards school and learning. Despite his intelligence, he can’t understand why school and life seem to getter harder every year. As his struggles with learning increase, his frustration grows. Stress levels increase. His confidence and self-esteem begin to suffer. As the child grows, he may seek relief through alcohol or drugs. So what can we, as parents, do to help our children overcome stress? Text Box: Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center ¨ 3691 Bass Lake Road, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 ¨ (916) 358-5803¨ Copyright 2010. Gerald Hughes. All Rights Reserved. Text Box: The first thing we can do is to help our children to recognize stress and understand its negative impact. Often we can help them find contrasting experiences in their own lives: 1) a specific event when they were stressed or anxious and learning or recalling information was difficult and tedious; and 2) a specific event when they were relaxed and focused and learning was easy and fun. Next, they need the tools to reduce their level of stress when needed. They need to learn how to switch from the fight-or-flight, “problem-solving mode” to the relaxed and focused “learning mode’. We can often begin the process of learning to relax by practicing simple breathing and focusing exercises—perhaps focusing their eyes on one spot for one to two minutes. While visually focusing on the spot, they become aware of their breathing. As they slowly breathe in and out, they continue to focus on the spot ignoring the activity (chaos) around them. Many children can begin the process of improving their ability to learn with a daily practice of simple, yet appropriate exercises. At the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center in El Dorado Hills, children and adults are taught to use a variety of tools to help them reduce stress and increase their focus. Once stress is reduced or overcome, they can now utilize appropriate strategies for storing, processing and recalling information. These leaning strategies allow children and adults to take information from a variety of sources (auditory, visual or written) and to process that information in a way that is appropriate to their individual learning style. The net effect is that study time can actually be reduced while retention and recall are effectively increased. Typically, this training takes place over several weeks so that the child can absorb and practice his new skills. One side effect of this type of training is that as the child’s abilities grow, his confidence returns and self-esteem increases. An often repeated comment by children and adults attending the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center is that, “We take the stress out of learning.”

“When working with children, it is critical to understand that driving every behavior is a positive intention.” — Gerald Hughes
Text Box: ADHD, Autism and Stress Text Box: Is your child suffering from undo stress? Does she struggle with fear, anxiety, nervousness or stress? Text Box: So what can we, as parents, do to help our children overcome stress?
Share/Bookmark