Kids today suffer from a crazy amount of stress which can negatively impact their physical, emotional, and behavioral health. And as we’ve talked about in a previous article, kids don’t grow OUT of health concerns, they grow INTO another one because their nervous system remains dysregulated.

Since we know it’s impossible to eliminate stress in our children’s lives, it’s important to make sure their nervous system is functioning well so they can ADAPT to stress and changing environments without becoming overwhelmed, sick, or moody.

Today we’re taking a closer look at the impact that different types of stressors have on a child’s overall health and nervous system function, as well as steps you can take to improve their behavior and development.

3 Types of Stress that Contribute to Poor Behavior in Kids

We categorize stressors into three categories known as the 3 T’s: Traumas, Thoughts, and Toxins, aka physical, emotional, and chemical stress.

All of these stressors STACK UP over time and can be overwhelming for kids. When the amount of stress a child experiences becomes too great, the neurological pathways between their brain and body become blocked, leading to difficulty with changes in routine, an inability to regulate emotions, increased outbursts, poor sleep, chronic colds and sickness, anxiety and more.

1. Most common PHYSICAL stressors: Forceful birth, C-section, major falls, sitting all day, looking down at technology, sports injuries.

    

2. Most common EMOTIONAL stressors: Unpredictable routines, super busy schedules, too much screen time, video games, mental exhaustion from school, social stress, difficulty making friends or fitting in, pressure to perform in school and sports.

    

3. Most common CHEMICAL stressors: Medications, processed foods, unfiltered water, sugar, pesticides, candy, shampoo, conventional cleaning products, vaccines.

Getting adjusted regularly along with decreasing these stressors helps reduce nerve interference between the brain and body and keeps kids healthy, happy and on their best behavior!

How Does the Nervous System Impact a Child’s Behavior and Development?

1. Stress in the nervous system CHANGES behavior: A distressed, disconnected nervous system doesn’t function as well as a calm, connected nervous system free from nerve interference. The nervous system (brain and spinal cord) is the MASTER CONTROL CENTER of all organs, muscles, and cells in the body, so when a child's brain and body cannot communicate effectively, physical, emotional, and behavioral issues often arise.

    

2. A high heart rate variability (HRV) improves ADAPTABILITY: A quick HRV scan (done in our office) reveals how well a child can adapt to stress and their environment. A child with a low HRV score has a distressed and unbalanced autonomic nervous system, which means they may have difficulty regulating their emotions, appropriately perceiving and responding to social cues or change, focusing in school, and may not sleep or digest their food well.

    

3. Restore the nervous system to restore OPTIMAL development and functioning: When kids miss developmental milestones, routinely misbehave, or struggle emotionally, parents often turn to therapy, behavior management, or medications. While those things may be helpful at times, if their nervous system isn't functioning well, behavioral or developmental concerns can only improve so much.

    

   It's only by REMOVING nerve interference through TRT chiropractic adjustments that a child's brain and body can communicate CLEARLY, resulting in optimal physical, emotional, and behavioral health.

Creative Ways to Manage Stress and Connect Better as Family

We get it. Sometimes it’s hard to engage your kids, limit screen time, and spend quality time together as a family or in nature. But doing so will reap MULTIPLE BENEFITS for your children’s health and happiness as well as family relationships. Take a look (and read all the ideas) that Dr. Kyle provides in this video on how to connect better as a family and manage stress.

If you’re ready to improve the functioning of your child’s nervous system, their ability to adapt to stress and their development, give us a call at (612) 516-3090 or click the link below to schedule an initial appointment. We’ll assess their nervous system using 3 different neurological scans so you can see if a distressed nervous system is contributing to their health concerns.