What Special Considerations Should I Make For A Child Or Teenager Who Is 'Stressed Out' By School Or Work?

— -- Question: What special considerations should I make for a child or teenager who is 'stressed out' by school or work?

Answer: There are a number of things you can do to help a child or teen who might be stressed out by school or by a part-time job. The first thing that's most important is to talk to the child or teen to find out what might be trigging the stress for them.

It's important to find out whether the stress might be caused by external factors like a heavy schedule, a heavy workload, lots of classes or maybe even stress in relationships at school, stress with friends or teachers at school. Or if the stress is being caused by something more internal -- that the child is having trouble coping or that they don't have enough coping skills in their arsenal so that they can tackle the stress they're dealing with.

Once you've talked to the child and you have some ideas, then you can make adjustments, either changing the external factors that are stressing them or helping them improve their coping skills by learning new techniques, learning ways to relax, better handling the things that are stressing them in their lives.

In severe cases, you may even look at changing the school schedule or the work schedule and even considering having the child see a therapist or a counselor for some help.