Mood swings, headaches, tummy aches, stubbornness, and more\u2014these are all signs your child is becoming a teen, right? To some degree, yes. For some preteens, frequent headaches or tummy aches and severe or suddenly more severe changes in mood can be a sign of something else. What if those are really signs of stress?<\/p>\n
Aside from the physical changes that come along with puberty, there are developmental changes that take place as well. Your preteen should begin to develop a sense of their own identity<\/a>, outside of what you, the parent, thinks of them. They begin to try to find their place in the world. And with that comes a lot of trial and error, naturally.<\/p>\n New hobbies and new interests, abandoned almost as soon as they began and replaced with yet another new interest, will become the new norm. You\u2019ll adapt to the latest request for posters or merch just in time for them to begin to focus on something else. It\u2019s a time of upheaval within your child\u2019s world<\/a>. Almost-obsessive levels of excitement about a new show, game, YouTuber, or TikTok personality are all part of it. In a world of quarantines and social unrest, your preteen might even choose an interest that aligns with their personal value system.<\/p>\n Your child is starting to figure out who it is they want to become. Which is great! And hard! And sometimes stressful, especially right now. Look no further than your own feelings about the current state of the world to imagine what might cause your child added stress. COVID-19, school, and a loss of social activities alone is enough to cause anyone stress.<\/p>\n So how do you identify if your child is stressed? And what can you do to help them cope while also encouraging them to develop lifelong, healthy coping skills of their own? Here are 10 warning signs that your child needs help with stress management.<\/p>\n Did you know in one study conducted with school-going tweens 20 to 56% reported they were dieting? Sometimes when we\u2019re stressed and feel as if the world around us is chaos, we focus on controlling what we can. Which for some tweens may include how much they eat and when. So if your child is avoiding family dinner, it\u2019s time to find out why.<\/p>\n While any weight loss in a growing child should always be concerning, preteens don\u2019t match the image many parents have of a child with an eating disorder<\/a>. The biggest sign that something isn\u2019t right could be a lack of growth instead of weight loss. This may be accompanied by your child eating less or not eating at all during meal times.<\/p>\n If your schedules allow for it, implement regularly scheduled family dinner nights. The more nights you can get together, the better. It doesn\u2019t have to be a home-cooked meal, either. Takeout shared at the table with no electronics is still a win! Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a win, too.<\/p>\n1. Your preteen is avoiding family dinner.<\/h3>\n
What if you don\u2019t have family dinners?<\/h3>\n