Parental Stress & Child's Behaviour

There are many factors that can cause parental stress.  A few include financial, relationships, child temperament, work challenges and own past challenges.

Parental stress and child temperament is causal, however it can be argued if one causes the other.  Studies have shown that children with challenging behaviours can cause maladaptive parenting strategies such as aggression or avoidance.  On the other hand, parents can be stressed from factors outside of the child's control such as workplace issues which can cause maladaptive parenting styles, leading to challenging behaviours in the child.  

Child temperament includes slow to warm up, fearfulness, effortful self-regulation and being difficult.  These children are more likely to develop behaviour problems when exposed to stress in the family home compared to other children.  The parent becomes irritable from stress, resulting in the child with poor self-regulation to become challenging.  While a child who is able to self-regulate will soothe him or her self through self-talk, keeping one self occupied with something else such as playing and maintain good behaviour.  

Therefore, it is important to consider child temperament and his or her environment to understand why challenging behaviours occur.    Especially when one child misbehaves and the other doesn't in the same environment.