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August
23, 2004.
Britain's
kids need soothing more than
ever
before...
A new report released this week
gives a fascinating insight
into the stress British kids – some
as young as five - suffer. Bold
2-in-1
Lavender and Camomile’s ‘Soothing
Family Life’ report was
commissioned to investigate
this escalating problem and to give parents practical
help and advice to soothe
stressful family situations.
Even the simplest school tests
are a major stress culprit, with
around half of all kids – and a
similar percentage of parents –
reporting tests and exams make
them feel downright miserable. It
has been reported that this exam
stress has risen
by 50% to an all time high in the
last 12 months(1).
Furthermore ‘pushy parents’ who
pressure their children to constantly
practice for exams can do more
harm than good.
The report found
three other main stress factors
for kids in the UK today:
- Increased
parental
stress –
mum
and
dad’s
anxiety
rubs
off
on
the
kids
and
means
they
can’t
cope
as
well
- ‘Life
events’ –
understandably,
any
traumatic
events
will
add
to
a
child’s
stress
and
ability
to
handle
it
- Family
situation –
for
example,
boys
tend
to
be
more
stressed
if
they
don’t
have
a
strong
male
role
model;
girls
if
they
don’t
have
a
close
parental
bond
A soothing panel of experts helped
put the report together and offer
help for parents so they can recognise
and then help to soothe kids’ stress.
They include celebrity working mum
Kim Wilde, who offers her real-life
advice, along with insight from
report co-ordinator Dr Terri Apter
of Cambridge University and advice
from parenting expert Dr Pat Spungen:
Dr Apter comments, “The results
of Bold 2-in-1 Lavender and Camomile’s
‘Soothing Family Life’ report have
fascinating implications for how
we treat boys and girls at school
and at home.”
She continues “For example, we
know girls generally tend to do
better in exams than boys and our
findings show now might be the time
to reconsider how we treat boys and
girls in order to soothe their academic
stress. Generally, families need
more soothing moments together to
ensure kids don’t get stressed out.”
Some of the key findings highlighted
by the study include:
- About
half
of
all
kids
–
and
a
similar
percentage
of
parents
–
say
exams and
even
the
simplest
school
tests
–
raise
stress
levels
and
make
them
feel
downright
miserable
- Boys’
stresses
tend
not
to
be
academically
driven
but
are
more
to
do
with
family
stability
- The
balance
between
encouraging
children
to
do
their
best
and
being
a
‘pushy
parent’
is
a
hard
one
to
achieve
and
needs
thought
–
boys
especially
get
very
stressed
if
made
to
do
homework/prepare
for
exams
with
their
parents
- Girls
demonstrate
stress
via
anxiety
behaviour
boys
tend
to
express
it
through
bad
behaviour
- Stress
doesn’t
seem
to
affect
girls
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