Stress is a normal part of life. How we choose to deal with it, however, is an entirely different subject. As a parent or grandparent, it’s important to know how to help children deal with stress effectively to avoid child behavior problems.

Today it’s unusual to see a child simply relaxing. There are expectations from family, teachers, and friends, as well as technology and activities to keep them busy. Some studies suggest a third of all children suffer from undue stress. In fact, young children are beginning to show signs of chronic stress in ever-increasing numbers, enough to concern health professionals.

Listen to the child in your life and learn to recognize the symptoms of being overly stressed. They may act out, whine incessantly, or try to isolate themselves if they’re not verbal yet. Older children may show a lack of patience, become stubborn, or have trouble concentrating. They may also express physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach-aches, or lack of energy. Pay attention to the symptoms and try to determine if they’re caused by stress or if they’re simply misbehaving.

Teach your child to recognize the difference between being relaxed and being stressed. Explain how stress might make them feel tense or stiff like a piece of wood. Help them learn to relax by tensing their muscles and the letting the tension go. When they can tense and release their muscles at will, they’ll be able to learn to relax more efficiently.

Be available for them. Perhaps part of your child’s stress is caused by everyone in the family being too busy. Your child needs to know they can find you if they need you. You might want to reduce the number of activities your family is involved in so you’re more available for them. Take time to spend alone with them if you notice them starting to become apprehensive.

Try to be patient with them. The old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” can be applied to your child learning to deal with stress as well. Learning to deal with stress takes time and your child needs you to be patient with them while they learn.

Have some fun with your child. There is little that can beat laughter for reducing stress in children and in adults. Play games with them, watch silly movies, or just enjoy listening to their goofy jokes. You’ll both feel better and less stressed.

It’s important to remember that stress is common to nearly everyone. And while adults have years of experience dealing with stress, that’s not so for the children in their lives. Your child depends on you to help them learn how to deal with stress. This can begin at an early age and continue until they are in their teens. By the time they’re adults and able to better understand stress, they’ll have mastered dealing with it effectively.

Parents try to do their best to teach their children to be honest, but the fact is many children lie anyhow. If this tendency isn’t dealt with while the child is young, parents may soon find they have a teenager that lies for any reason. With that kind of child behavior problem, you may be asking yourself, “When is lying a serious problem?”

Most people know what lying is. For those who don’t, according to Webster’s Dictionary (1913) lying is defined as the act of uttering “falsehood with an intention to deceive; to say or do that which is intended to deceive another.”

Some parents feel lying of any kind is a serious problem because it could mean there is a deeper character issue. Lying in teenagers could mean they are involved in drug or alcohol abuse, problems at school, or even worse, crime. Here are some guidelines to let you know if your teen may need the help of a professional psychologist to deal with their lying problem.

Young children can’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality and therefore appear to be lying. Older children begin to understand the difference between truth and a lie, but may lie to avoid punishment. They may also lie to protect the feelings of others. Teens are expected to know the difference but when they lie continually your concerns may be warranted.

If your teen does any of the following, you may decide they have a serious problem:

* Lie to get attention
* Lie to take advantage of others
* Lie to avoid dealing with demands of parents, friends, or teachers
* Lie to hide drug or alcohol use
* Lie as a means to manipulate another

When you catch your teen in a lie, you may have a serious discussion with your teen about lying. You’ve probably explained the importance of honesty and how lying can erode your trust in them. You may have also given them consequences for lying. It could be that talking and consequences haven’t had an effect on them.

Does your teen resort to telling lies whenever they want to avoid something? Do you catch them telling lies about where they’ve been and what they’ve been doing? How quickly does your teen cover up one lie when they’re caught by telling another? If these are common occurrences, your teen may have a chronic lying problem which requires professional intervention.

What type of health issues may cause a teen to be a chronic liar? Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, or learning disabilities are some conditions your teen may have which hadn’t been diagnosed in the past. Psychological counseling may help determine a course of action to combat your child’s problem.

If you find your teen lying too often, try not to take it as a failure on your part. You know how you’ve taught them, so you’ve done your part. Maybe you haven’t known when lying is a serious problem before; now you’ll have a better idea and a possible course of action for the future.

Stealing is one of the most common acts that children get involved in, especially during their school life. Some do it consciously. Most of them seize other people’s belonging unconsciously. At this age, children cannot differentiate between their things and those of others and hence, steal. The act of stealing, which has become a prevalent child behavior problem, is an immediate concern for parents.

But before taking any corrective steps, they must try to find out the reason why their child is indulging in such a behavior. There are several facts that compel children to steal, such as low self-esteem, peer pressure, etc. It might also be possible that they do not have friends and are trying to ‘buy’ their friends.

Reasons Why Do School Children Steal

Lack of Proper Understanding
Small children are naïve and cannot differentiate between things that belong to them and those that other children own. They may take someone else’s things thinking it to be their own. In such a case, children are unaware of the fact that they are doing something wrong.

Lack of Self-Control
Lack of self control is also one of the reasons for stealing. Often times, it has been noted that children get attracted to things that they do not own. The urge to have it makes them steal. They do this without realizing that taking someone else’s thing is a misdeed.

Peer Pressure
Peer pressure and the need to fit in are also one of the main causes of stealing. Some children get depressed when they are rejected from a group, just because they come from a relatively poor family. The need to fit into a group with members the high class society makes them steal also.

Get Attention
Sometimes, lack of attention by parents forces children to steal. They know that by stealing they would be able to get their parents attention. Sometimes, children also indulge in the act of stealing to impress their peers.

Anger or Revenge
Children find stealing the best way to show their anger and revenge. When they are upset with someone who is more powerful than them, stealing comes across as the best option to make the other person suffer.

Feeling of Excitement
Stealing is a daring act and some children do it just to get a kick in their life. There are many kids who steal things just for the adrenalin rush and enjoy the fun of not getting caught. The act gives them a thrill.

Jealousy or Desire
The feeling of jealousy develops from childhood. The desire to have things that are beautiful or flashy may cause kids to steal. Some children are also jealous of their classmates who have attractive things. In order to have the same thing, they resort to stealing.

Whatever the reasons for the act of stealing behavior of a child, bear in mind to take into consideration the urgent need to take corrective actions to stop it. Unresolved cases like this will lead to a great possibility of future rebellions, crimes and offenses.