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In this time of extreme economic stress, it can be difficult to leave the problems of the economy off the kitchen table. Fears about mortgages, college tuition, retirement, and day-to-day expenses haunt the halls of many family homes.
Children are extremely resilient. However, children are often keenly aware of tension in the household, whether it comes from financial difficulties or other problems. Ninety-one percent of the children participating in APA’s 2010 Stress in America survey reported that they know when their parents are experiencing stress because of their complaining, arguing, and yelling. And parents often underestimate how much their own stress affects their children, the survey found. Nearly half of “tweens” feel sad and 38 percent of teens feel frustrated when their parents are worried, for example.
And financial worries can have a devastating long-term impact on the younger members of a household. When times get tough, research shows, families can enter a downward spiral.1 Economic difficulties, such as being unable to pay bills or having to move in with relatives, cause parents’ stress to increase. Parents may then take their frustration out on their children or withdraw altogether. Without parental support, children act out or do poorly in school, setting them up for economic trouble in adulthood...
Children are extremely resilient. However, children are often keenly aware of tension in the household, whether it comes from financial difficulties or other problems. Ninety-one percent of the children participating in APA’s 2010 Stress in America survey reported that they know when their parents are experiencing stress because of their complaining, arguing, and yelling. And parents often underestimate how much their own stress affects their children, the survey found. Nearly half of “tweens” feel sad and 38 percent of teens feel frustrated when their parents are worried, for example.
And financial worries can have a devastating long-term impact on the younger members of a household. When times get tough, research shows, families can enter a downward spiral.1 Economic difficulties, such as being unable to pay bills or having to move in with relatives, cause parents’ stress to increase. Parents may then take their frustration out on their children or withdraw altogether. Without parental support, children act out or do poorly in school, setting them up for economic trouble in adulthood...
