Children affected by recession stress

PARENTAL stress about job security and finances is having a knock-on effect on children, with concerns that youngsters are now feeling the pain of the recession themselves, a health launch will hear today.

The increased burdens that many parents face as a result of the economic downturn are now manifesting in children aged from two to teens as some are freezing up emotionally while others display erratic behaviour.

Child psychologist David Coleman says pressures on struggling families will be even greater in the coming weeks due to children’s expectations at Christmas. But there are simple ways of de-stressing recession-hit families, he said ahead of the release of a survey on health and wellbeing.

“A lot of it is understanding that where people are under stress and pressure, that it is likely to impact on their children.

“If they’re stressed about where the money’s going to come from for Christmas and things like school, the children are probably noticing that. If it’s already clear somebody is on reduced hours or they’ve lost their job, don’t try to protect children from that but try to talk to them in a child-friendly way, depending on the age of the child.”

Mr Coleman will speak today at the launch of the Pfizer Health Index, which is expected to indicate an increase in levels of concern around job security, finances and money.