We all know that stress is bad for us, but now someone in Australia has done a study about the effects of stress on your unborn baby. Their study followed pregnant women and the children born from those pregnancies from age two until fourteen.
Their findings indicate that the more stress you have when you are pregnant the more likely your child will have behavior issues. So now as a single mom to be, you have one more thing to worry about. The study does go on to say that mothers shouldn’t worry if they have too much stress during pregnancy; it doesn’t mean your child will have behavior issues.
If your child is born into a positive and nurturing environment it will help his or her brain learn to deal better with stress and avert behavior problems later on. I’m glad they put that last part in there, it’s something we all need to remember, regardless of our circumstances. Our children need us to be positive and loving. It’s not always easy but it is important for their future well being.
Children process stress differently than adults and they don’t have the life knowledge to realize that just because something stresses you, the world will not end. Small children tend to think big and dramatic, if you are stressed about work, maybe you just had a bad day, they think you won’t have a job and there won’t be any money, so they won’t have a place to live, food etc. It is important to let our kids know we’ve had a bad day, but it’s ok, this too shall pass and tomorrow will be better.
This will help them not be afraid and also help them in the future when they have a bad day. We really are their role models all day, every day. It’s a big job, one I’m not sure I’m always up for, but my daughter, and her happiness are so worth it.