Although very common in today’s teenagers, stress is not always recognized. Stress could be positive or negative, but how do you differentiate between the two? How do we help our children identify what they’re experiencing and enable them with stress management skills that they will need to lead a successful life? Here are some tips for parents to educate their children on stress and its causes, from Dulwich College Beijing’s Stress Management for Teens led by Jo Symons.

Positive Stress
Stress is your body’s coping mechanism when under pressure. When our children are under pressure, their bodies secrete hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenalin. This is perfectly normal. In fact, this short term physiological tension in their bodies increases their mental alertness, which in turn helps them face challenges and demands placed on them. In simple words…it’s a completely natural and essential bodily function! We want our children to experience this and we want to see them outperform themselves occasionally. This is positive. However, it’s only desirable if it is short term, which means it subsides once the challenge is met.

Negative Stress
If the demands placed on our teenage children are consistently high, their bodies end up having to maintain really high levels of hormone secretions to cope with demands placed on them. Typically, this is when they start to experience the symptoms of stress. It’s unnatural for their bodies to maintain high levels of hormones, and as parents we need to be able to pick on these signs to help them manage it. It could manifest in one of these ways list

Cognitive: Causing anxiety, poor judgment, memory lapses, lack of concentration, and pessimism.

Emotional: Irritability, sever mood swings, agitation, feeling overwhelmed, a sense of isolation, and even depression.

Physical: Digestive problems, unexplained aches and pains, rapid heartbeat, frequent illness, and nausea or dizziness.

Behavioral: Eating disorders, sleeping too much or not enough, procrastination, isolation from others, nervous habits, and use of relaxants such as alcohol or drugs etc.

If you observe carefully, you’ll realize that whether they use the word or not, our children are very aware of stress in the daily course of academic pursuits, extracurricular activities, peer relations, family relations, and life events. Some might believe it is a physical, emotional or mental response, while others might think the unusual demands itself are the ‘stress’. Another realization is that children are also exposed to many stress causing elements, which are completely out of our control.

Therefore, educating ourselves on how to help our children manage their stress and respond appropriately to the demands of their lives is absolutely essential. Knowledge is power and the best tool at our disposal to combat the perils of over-scheduled lives that our children lead. Sharing this knowledge with your children is the first step towards not only helping them understand how their bodies are designed to cope, but also decode the word ‘stress’ for them. It is imperative that they know when to succumb to it and when to resist.

Next week we will look at ways to help them deal with stress!

Photo: Courtesy of John Puddephatt (Flickr) and Marta B. (Flickr)

A pop-up yoga class will be held in Ditan Park tomorrow morning with 100 percent of donations going to Medecins san Frontieres, a well known and respected NGO performing relief work in Syria. Australian Yonnie Fung will lead the class. Fung is a certified yoga therapist, a qualified yoga teacher, and a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapist with over 4,000 hours of teaching experience in China and Australia. All are welcome to participate, from total beginners to level 6 Ashtangi. While the first pop up class was originally scheduled earlier in the month, the event was cancelled due to rain. See class details below.

When: 9:30-11am, tomorrow, September 19
Cost: RMB 180 RMB (standard drop-in/pop-up class rate)
Where: South Gate Ditan Park (the main gate just across the ring road from Lama Temple. Nearest Subway is Yonghegong Lama Temple on Lines 2 and 5.
Cost: RMB 180. Yoga with Yonnie will match the fee of the first ten students.

To get in on the yoga action, contact Yonnie by email or on WeChat username yogawithyonnie. Be sure to let Yonnie know if you have any injuries or conditions she should be aware of.

Remember to bring your own yoga mat, water, and RMB 2 to get into the park as well as your class fee.

Photo: Still Vision (flickr)

Yesterday, the third floor of Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center was lit in blue last night in honor of the seventh anniversary of World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD). More than 300 guests attended a charity dinner, which took place  from 6.30 to 9.30pm and was organized by Stars and Rain, China’s first NGO dedicated to serving autistic children and their families. There was a children’s choir, an exhibition of paintings by autistic kids, and an auction to raise funds.

Tadeusz Chomicki, the ambassador of Poland, announced that all donations would go directly the Stars and Rain Special Fund administered by China Charities Aid Foundation for Children. “Autism needs a lot more attention – not just in China, but all over the world,” he said.

The funds are intended to serve children with autism in four main areas: financial relief for families, training in basic life skills and professional skills, training teachers from underprivileged regions of China, and development and improvement of Stars and Rain programs.

Stars and Rain has planned a series of activities to take place in Beijing through to August under the theme, “Care for Children with Autism, I Am a Happy Giver.”

Other Beijing establishments are also getting in on the cause. One of these is Zhongjian, a private art gallery located in the suburbs of west Beijing. The gallery is currently showcasing artwork by autistic children.

Though WAAD only occurs once a year, these events are a reminder that for some, every day is autism awareness day and that being charitable is always a worthy cause.

For a full list of “Care for Children with Autism” activities, donations and volunteering opportunities, contact Julia Lim (julia@autismchina.org or 185 1032 3449).

Photos by Yvette Ferrari

Earlier this year, a study was released that linked air pollution to birth defects as of last week a branch agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that air pollution does indeed cause lung cancer via a report on NBC. This is not the first study nor will it be the last that will show of the effects that air pollution has on the human body. Recently, the studies are showing more direct correction between air pollution and ailments. This is what the report highlighted:

What many commuters choking on smog have long suspected has finally been scientifically validated: air pollution causes lung cancer.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer declared on Thursday that air pollution is a carcinogen, alongside known dangers such as asbestos, tobacco and ultraviolet radiation. The decision came after a consultation by an expert panel organized by IARC, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization, which is based in Lyon, France.

"We consider this to be the most important environmental carcinogen, more so than passive smoking," said Kurt Straif, head of the IARC department that evaluates cancer-causing substances.

IARC had previously deemed some of the components in air pollution such as diesel fumes to be carcinogens, but this is the first time it has classified air pollution in its entirety as cancer causing.

The risk to the individual is low, but Straif said the main sources of pollution are widespread, including transportation, power plants, and industrial and agricultural emissions.

Air pollution is a complex mixture that includes gases and particulate matter, and IARC said one of its primary risks is the fine particles that can be deposited deep in the lungs of people.

Read more here

Check the day’s air quality levels by either using the US embassy site or download various recommended apps for both the apple and android users. 

Photo courtesy of Ellie Friedman

The Hutong in collaboration with Chi Fan for Charity are co-hosting a weekly summer charity dinner series as "an opportunity to get acquainted with the beneficiaries of this year’s Chi Fan for Charity event." 

The dinners are taking place through the rest of this month and into August and will feature Southeast Asian delights courtesy of local chef and martial arts expert Jun Trinh (Friday, July 29th) and Element Fresh and Flamme Chef Jeff Powell serving up "authentic Bocadillos" (Mexican-style tapas). Beneficiaries include the New Hope Foundation and the Dandelion School.

Click here for more details.