How stress affects the family

Stress is something that everyone is all to familiar with.  It can be caused by all sorts of things and you should count yourself lucky if you can go one day without.  One of the more susceptible groups to stress would be families, particularly families with young children.   Parents have to deal with countless stress-causing things throughout the day.  Work, bills, sickness, and childcare are some of the more common causes of stress which parents might come across.  To add on top of all of that, managing one's time between all their various responsibilities can add even more stress.

In families in which both parents work, finding the time to deal with everything and spend time with the children is difficult.  In fact, for full-time working parents, 39% of mothers and 50% of fathers believe that they do not spend enough time with their children.  (Miller 2)  You might believe that this is another cause for concern and yet another source of stress for the parents and the children, but a little time apart might actually be beneficial for children in terms of dealing with stress.

In a study that observed children at 4 years old and then again as teens, it was found that children who had less parent interaction actually experienced less stress.  The study tested cortisol levels in saliva when the subject was presented with a stressor.  Subjects who had a high amount of parent interaction had higher cortisol levels than those who had a lower amount of parent interaction.  (Hackman 6)

This could be due to the children with less parental interaction experiencing more stress throughout their early lives and thus are more accustomed to the experience to the point at which it has become "blunted" as the study puts it.  Having said that, should parents still be concerned about spending too little time with their children?  One could suggest that these children will be more prepared for adult life because they will experience less stress.  Maybe that small sacrifice of spending less time with your children will pay off in more than just money.

Works Cited

Hackman, Daniel A., Laura M. Betancourt, Nancy L. Brodsky, Lara Kobrin, Hallam Hurt, and Martha J. Farah. "Selective Impact of Early Parental Responsivity on Adolescent Stress Reactivity." PLoS ONE 8.3 (2013): n. pag. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.

Miller, Claire Cain. "Stressed, Tired, Rushed: A Portrait of the Modern Family." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Nov. 2015. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.