草莓污视频导航

Young boy lays his head face down on an open book on a table in frustration

Aug. 30, 2021

Effects of stress on children

Alumni All-Access panel members offer tips for mitigating childhood stress

You need to listen to kids and learn how they are feeling, because you often won鈥檛 know until you ask.

There鈥檚 one foolproof way to ease a child鈥檚 stress 鈥 especially during the pandemic: give them your attention, say childhood health experts.

Taking the time to listen patiently to kids and engage with them puts you on surer footing in terms of understanding what鈥檚 going on with them emotionally, as well as helping them to build the kind of resilience that will help them grow into healthy, well-adjusted adults.

You can hear three childhood health experts share their wisdom, tricks and tips on an upcoming online panel, Effects of Early Childhood Stress on Development, running at noon on Oct. 6 as part of Alumni All-Access.

The panellists include paediatrian Dr. Janice Heard, MD鈥84; renowned childhood stress researcher Dr. Nicole Letourneau, PhD; and Patty Kilgallon,

The panellists include paediatrian Dr. Janice Heard, MD鈥84; renowned childhood stress researcher Dr. Nicole Letourneau, PhD; and Patty Kilgallon, RN, chief executive officer of the Children鈥檚 Cottage Society, which nurtures children and families through prevention programs and services.

The panelists include paediatric consultant Dr. Janice Heard, MD鈥84; renowned childhood stress researcher Dr. Nicole Letourneau, PhD; and Patty Kilgallon, RN, chief executive officer of the Children鈥檚 Cottage Society, which nurtures children and families through prevention programs and services.

Discover the keys to child and family wellness

鈥淭he most important thing parents and grandparents听can do to support their children is to take time for them when they are experiencing stress,鈥 says Heard, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Paediatrics in the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM). 鈥淗aving an adult who is empathetic and who听gives the child coping strategies to help them deal with how they are feeling is one of the keys to child and family wellness.鈥

There are three kinds of childhood stress that parents, grandparents and caregivers should be aware of: positive stress, such as learning something new at school and meeting new people; tolerable stress, which is the next level of intensity and includes things such as moving houses or parents getting divorced; and toxic stress, which can be all the above, but also include child abuse听鈥 neglect, family violence, addictions, and maternal or paternal depression.

With proper adult attention and care, the first two can help to strengthen resilience, which is the psychological capacity to recover relatively quickly from life鈥檚 difficulties. The third, toxic stress, can be overcome, but, if left unattended, it can insidiously undermine a child for their lifetime, says Heard.

Learn how to strengthen resilience

鈥淲e are born and programmed with a certain amount of resilience,鈥 says Heard, who has been named to the Order of the 草莓污视频导航, is a 2021 草莓污视频导航 Arch Award recipient for Alumni Service, and a paediatric consultant for the Calgary Urban Project Society and Community Outreach of Paediatrics and Psychiatry in Education.

鈥淭oxic stress is stress that occurs in the absence of supportive adult relationships that help children to cope,鈥 says Heard. 鈥淧eople can build resilience and mitigate stress with the right support, which can also come from parents and other caregivers, but also from coaches, babysitters, teachers 鈥 anyone who provides a safe environment for learning opportunities and who is responsive to the child.鈥

You can reach out online to learn more. The offers support and resources to help children, families and communities build resilience,听including an online Brain Story Certification course.

The pandemic has undercut, in many ways, the supportive aspects of 鈥渋t takes a village to raise a child,鈥 says Heard.

On the one hand, families have been required to spend more time together as schools and businesses transitioned to working from home last year, but it has also pulled asunder the ties to coaches and other third parties who would otherwise be there to check in on a child and be able to tell parents or caregivers if they notice, say, that a child is withdrawing.

鈥淒on鈥檛 assume,鈥 says Heard, who is also board chair and president of the Children鈥檚 Cottage Society. 鈥淵ou need to listen to kids and learn how they are feeling, because you often won鈥檛 know until you ask.鈥

As for returning to a degree of normalcy as the rate of vaccinations has risen, Heard says parents and caregivers need to encourage kids to get out now and do activities with others, and that doesn鈥檛 mean just being online with their electronic devices.

Explore the 'serve and return'听basics of healthy interactions

Letourneau, a prominent researcher and professor in the Faculty of Nursing and CSM 鈥 and one of the most-followed nurses on in the world 鈥撎says the return to school is best buffered by parents and grandparents and other family members simply taking the time to talk with their children.

鈥淵ou want to talk to them in a way that will create an open channel to share any concerns or questions that they may have,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e need to be emotionally available to our kids and bear in mind that there might be some anxieties associated with going back to school.鈥

The most basic guidance Letourneau offers is for parents to be aware of "serve and return"听鈥 the interaction between parent and child that begins in infancy and continues throughout early childhood. If, for example, a child serves up a cue such as crying or eye contact, does the parent respond and, if so, how?

鈥淵ou want to keep the interaction going,鈥 Letourneau says. 鈥淭he child wants to know that that there is someone there who pays attention to them, who will meet their needs and protect them and keep them safe. Someone who values their cues and what they say, instilling in them the feeling of being cared for by someone who will have their back.鈥

Uncover the ways children develop

Experiences from conception to age six have the most important influence of any time in life. Letourneau underscores this in her Attach Intervention听research and program at the Owerko Centre in the .听She helps parents understand what their child is thinking and feeling in the moment, getting parents to tune into their thoughts and feelings to be more sensitive and responsive.

Her VID-KIDS听project provides video feedback-interaction guidance for depressed mothers to respond to their children. Maternal depression is a focus of Letourneau鈥檚 work; her team has developed an app to help moms with postpartum depression.

鈥淭he concept of serve and return starts with newborns, but it persists throughout life and the importance of responding to the child鈥檚 cues can鈥檛 be overstated,鈥 Letourneau says.

Alumni All-Access (previously known as Alumni Month) runs from Sept. 16, to Oct. 6. Discover

Child Health and Wellness
The 草莓污视频导航 is driving science and innovation to transform the health and wellbeing of children and families. Led by the Alberta Children鈥檚 Hospital Research Institute, top scientists across the campus are partnering with Alberta Health Services, the Alberta Children鈥檚 Hospital Foundation, and our community to create a better future for children through research.