Survey: Holiday stress can negatively affect children's mood and diet

By Staff Writer

Tension around the holidays is typically linked to adults, but a new survey reveals that children can also feel stress around this time of year.

According to the American Psychological Association's (APA) 2010 Stress in America survey, children of parents who are stressed are more likely to feel the tension and anxiety themselves. Approximately 17 percent of children who had stressed parents reported feeling a great deal of stress themselves. Only 2 percent of kids who say their parents are never stressed reported feeling worried and tense.

A great deal of stress may lead to overeating, especially around the holidays. The survey, which was conducted online by Harris Interactive, shows that 27 percent of children said that they eat to make themselves feel better when they are stressed. A total of 40 percent of adults reported overeating or eating unhealthy foods because of stress.

The APA said that parents who cope with holiday tension in healthy ways are promoting critically important habits and skills to their easily-influenced children.

Adolescents who overeat or deal with a lot of stress may benefit from wilderness therapy, which aims to instill healthy lifestyle choices among problem teens.