Quick summary: School-related stress among children has grown from an occasional difficulty into a persistent problem, with 77% of parents reporting their child experiences it around schoolwork or exams. The causes are multiple and overlapping, spanning the lasting effects of pandemic disruption, the cognitive toll of excessive screen time, and the pressure that comes when academic expectations tip into fear of failure. Parents play a more significant role than is often recognised, and small consistent actions at home, from keeping conversation open to modelling measured responses to difficulty, can make a meaningful difference to a child’s emotional well-being.
Stress and anxiety among school-aged children are not new, but the scale at which they now appear is. What was once an occasional pressure around exams has become, for many children, a persistent and draining experience.
A recent survey by GoStudent found that 77% of parents say their child experiences stress related to schoolwork or exams. One in ten pupils reportedly feels this way constantly. That shift from occasional to ongoing matters because prolonged stress affects far more than academic performance. It touches emotional well-being, confidence, and how children relate to learning itself.
Stress in children rarely has a single cause. It usually builds gradually from a combination of academic pressure, social expectation, and environmental factors that outpace a child’s ability to cope.
The pandemic’s unfinished business
The Covid pandemic disrupted routines, friendships, and schooling during periods that were developmentally significant for many young people. Schools have largely returned to normal, but emotional recovery has not kept pace for everyone.
Some children continue to struggle with separation from home, re-establishing friendships, or rebuilding academic confidence after extended disruption. Children depend on routine and predictability to feel secure. When those structures break down for long periods, the anxiety that follows can linger even after stability returns.
Teachers have noted increases in what might be described as emotional disconnection: children who are physically present but mentally elsewhere, going through the motions without genuine engagement.
Technology and the problem of overstimulation
Digital technology contributes to stress in ways that are easy to overlook. Excessive screen time makes it harder for children to concentrate, regulate sleep, and sustain attention on schoolwork. When children fall behind as a result, anxiety about keeping up tends to follow.
Research indicates that 94% of teachers in Europe observe clear performance differences between pupils with high and low screen time. The underlying issue is not technology itself but what continuous stimulation does to developing minds. Children’s brains are still building the capacity to manage competing demands and regulate focus. A stream of notifications, social media updates, and digital entertainment makes it hard to slow down, which is precisely what sustained learning requires.
When expectations become pressure
Around 3 in 10 parents report that academic expectations, whether from teachers or from home, affect their child’s confidence. Encouraging children to do well is entirely reasonable, but some children absorb those expectations in ways that increase their fear of failure.
When self-worth becomes tied to academic results, ordinary setbacks feel serious. This can produce perfectionism, avoidance of difficult tasks, or heightened anxiety around assessments. Confidence, in practice, tends to grow in environments where children feel safe to attempt things, get things wrong, and try again. Sustained pressure often works against that.
What stress looks like in children
Children frequently lack the language to describe what they are experiencing, so stress tends to show up through behaviour. Irritability, fatigue, disturbed sleep, emotional outbursts, and reluctance to engage with schoolwork are among the more common signs. Some children also report physical symptoms such as headaches or stomach aches.
These responses are worth treating as signals rather than defects of character. A child who is withdrawn or difficult is often a child who is overwhelmed.
What parents can do
Parents cannot eliminate every source of stress, but their role in helping children build coping skills is significant. Some of the most useful things happen in ordinary, everyday interactions.
Keeping conversation open is one of them. Children need to feel they can raise worries without being dismissed or immediately told what to do. Asking simple questions, and listening without rushing to fix things, helps a child feel understood.
Recognising effort rather than outcomes also matters. When children are praised for persistence and improvement rather than results alone, they are more likely to develop a relationship with learning that is not defined by fear of getting things wrong.
Consistent routines support emotional regulation. Regular sleep, manageable homework schedules, and time for physical activity all reduce the cognitive load children are carrying.
Setting boundaries around technology, particularly before bedtime and during family time, can meaningfully improve focus and sleep. Hobbies involving creativity, movement, or being outdoors give children space to recover from mental effort.
Simple techniques like slow breathing or engaging in something absorbing can help children manage moments of intense stress. And children take cues from the adults around them. Parents who handle their own stress in measured, constructive ways tend to model exactly the kind of coping that children need to see.
Some stress is inevitable, and learning to manage it is part of growing up. But when stress becomes constant, children need active support. Helping them feel safe, heard, and capable of handling difficulty is not a minor intervention. It is, in many cases, the thing that makes the difference.
Dr Marguerita Magennis is a psychologist and educational consultant at FindTutors with more than 25 years of experience working with children, families, and educators. Her work spans schools, preschools, and parents, with a particular focus on neurodivergence and early childhood development.