Role of Parents and Teachers in Managing Children's Stress and Anxiety

Abstract: Stress and anxiety are significant issues for children and young people. While it is normal for children to experience some stress as they develop, ongoing or heightened anxiety can impact children's emotional health, learning abilities, social interactions, family relationships, and activities. There are a number of environments that are experienced by children throughout their development; however, the family and school are two settings that are of significance as parents and teachers interact with children on a regular basis and observe various aspects of their behaviour. Emotional and behavioral changes may be noticed by parents at home, while changes in academic performance, classroom engagement, peers, and attendance may be noticed by teachers. Therefore, collaboration between parents and teachers can offer a crucial base for early identification and help.As a result, partnership with parents and teachers can serve as a crucial base for early identification and help. This review looks at the current literature on the part of parents and teachers in the management of children's stress and anxiety. Specific focus includes parenting behaviours, parenting control, parent modelling, parent-focused interventions, teacher–student relationships, school based mental-health supports, and parent–teacher working together. Previous studies have found that parenting is related to childhood anxiety, but parenting only explains a relatively small proportion of the variance in children's anxiety, indicating that anxiety is a result of several interacting factors. Parent-only interventions have been found to show potential benefits, but there are methodological limitations. In the same way, research on teacher–student relationships indicates that positive, caring and warm relationships are correlated with low anxiety and conflictual relationships are correlated with high anxiety. The evidence regarding universal school-based prevention is less clear.The review pinpoints some gaps in the available research. Previous research tends to focus on parents or teachers, but not as part of a coordinated support system. Longitudinal studies, culturally diverse samples, child-centred research and research in the context of ordinary schools are also needed. Integrated parent – teacher programming, which includes early identification, emotional support, communication, development of coping skills, and professional referral should be explored in future research. This research may help to improve the understanding of how the family and school can collaborate to positively affect children's mental health.