Crisis Situations at Home Essay

Introduction

If a child experiences stress at home and thinks that (s)he cannot cope with it any longer, (s)he needs to be treated with care, creating a feeling of safety and the knowledge that (s)he has someone to rely on. Similar feelings are experienced by adults in the domestic environment, which is reflected in their behavior and attitude toward others. In this regard, it should be noted that children react to stressful situations at home in various ways. The factors that influence the reactions of children to stress experienced at home will be investigated in the following essay. 

Understanding Stress and Crisis: Their Impact on Family Dynamics

It should be said that experiencing stress in one’s daily life is not necessarily unhealthy in and of itself. Stress at home often encourages children and other family members to change for the better. However, crisis and stress differ in many respects. If a person gets excessively stressed and feels like he/she cannot cope with it any further, then this condition can be perceived as a crisis (Bensalah, Sinclair, Nacer, Commisso, & Bokhari, 2000). Crisis situations at home are especially stressful, and children need to be treated with a great deal of care and understanding in order to help them overcome a crisis situation. 

The Long-Term Impact of Parent-Induced Crises on Children’s Development

However, in many cases, crisis situations are facilitated by parents themselves, and children tend to react differently towards such situations. They may either start keeping their thoughts to themselves or become excessively vulnerable. All this is likely to affect the children’s lives in future. If children experience crisis situations at home in the early years of their lives, it may result not only in the instability of their characters, frequent changes in mood, and even aggression and violence when they grow up, but also in mental disorders (Bensalah, Sinclair, Nacer, Commisso, & Bokhari, 2000). This is one of the most serious outcomes of inappropriate parental treatment in the early years of children’s lives, and a significant factor that makes it especially important to find means of overcoming stressful situations at home. In this case, visiting a family psychologist may be highly beneficial not only for children, but for their parents as well.

Addressing the Psychological Impact of Crisis Situations on Children

Furthermore, children may react to a crisis situation at home by crying too much, which may also affect their mental and psychological health to a great extent and even lead to severe personality disorders in the future. Besides making children too vulnerable, crisis situations at home (especially those experienced by children at an early age) may facilitate the development of various psychological disorders, which may have long-term effects on the life of the children. Bensalah et al. (2000) indicate that “too often, children are not adequately protected from instability and violence” (Bensalah, Sinclair, Nacer, Commisso, & Bokhari, 2000, p. 33). Thus, there should be measures taken in order to help children cope with crisis situations at home. This may include enrollment in family therapy or some other programs aimed at helping children overcome stress in the domestic environment. 

Conclusion

To conclude, the stress caused by crisis situations at home, which may stem from the disrespectful attitude of parents or some other factors, provokes different reactions in children. The above essay discussed the outcomes of crisis situations at home and childrens’ ways of coping with the stress that results. The above information makes it clear that crisis situations may lead to severe outcomes, including psychological and mental disorders. Thus, crisis situations at home should be effectively overcome by means of enrolling in family therapy, visiting a family psychologist, or using other means of coping with stress. All this will be of much help not only to children, but also to their parents, who will learn to treat their children with greater care and respect. 

References

Bensalah, K., Sinclair, M., Nacer, F. H., Commisso, A., & Bokhari, S. (2000, April 26-28). Education in situations of emergency and crisis: Challenges for the new century. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001234/123484e.pdf