How Stress Impacts A Child's Development?

Stress is something that we go through throughout our daily lives, whether young or old, even kids have stress too. Which can greatly affect their development, since kids are so young and aren’t fully developed yet.

Although we do get those unwanted feelings of nervousness and worry, that annoying increase in heart rate, and even starting to sweat a lot, there is a lot more stuff that is happening in the brain when you are stressed. 

Presentation of 'How Stress Impacts Children's Development?'

To begin,you have to know  the main parts or functions of the brain that manage and control stress which are the amygdala, the prefrontal cortex, and the hippocampus. 

The Amygdala;

You can find this region on either side of the brain deep in the temporal lobe. 

The amygdala detects any threats and creates the stress response that you experience.

This causes the child to be much more sensitive to situations that may not be threatening causing them to overreact or have an inappropriate reaction.

Experiencing too much stress causes over-stimulation of the amygdala which alters the amygdala.

The Amygdala;

The Hippocampus;

This is also located in the medial temporal lobe on either side of the brain right behind the amygdala.

The hippocampus plays a role in processing and storing memories and learning and the ability to retrieve that information later on. 

The Hippocampus;

When experiencing stress the hippocampus is altered, shrinking in size.

 This damages a child’s ability to store and retrieve memories and learning which may lead to memory disorders and learning disabilities as well.

The Prefrontal Cortex;

The prefrontal cortex is located in the frontal lobe, which is the region of the brain that is right behind your forehead.

 The prefrontal cortex’s role in the brain is to regulate and manage thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

The Prefrontal Cortex;

When experiencing stress, the prefrontal cortex doesn’t work at its full capabilities, 

when continued for a long period of time this can disrupt and harm a child’s development.

Possible Stressors in Children;

-School

-Responsibilities

-Social Problems

-Family Problems

-Traumatic Events

--Bullying

-etc.

Children can be stressed over lots of things.

These things that cause stress are called stressors, which can be normal sometimes but it can also be unhealthy if it were to continue for a long period of time or the stress levels are just too high.