My Top Ten Stressors

1. DRUG ABUSE
drugs and drug abuse, this is in my opinion the main component that tears a family apart. drug abuse takes a viable and loving mother or father and turns them into monsters to their children. it creates divisions in a childs life by creating a drug infested home enviornment that festers violence and neglect.

2. Money
causes stress in the home when there is very little of it and a whole lot of bills and fininical responsibilities such as rent, gas and electric, food and clothing. for a child whose family cannot meet these obligations it can be very stressful. The child will go without and feel the back lash from his family and peers for what he needs and what he does not have. the child feels embrassment and ridicule.

3. Being raised in a single family home headed by a woman, can be very stressful for a male child who really needs the guideance of a male role model such as a father. Although the mother may do the best she can a young boy needs a man in his life to learn his role as he becomes a man.

4. An unrelated Boyfriend living in the Home
A male in the home such as a boyfriend living with a childs mother can sometimes be a bad experience for children when that man has no respect, love or regard for those children and there is abuse and sexual abuse to children and the mother ignores or doesnot protect her children they can be scarred for life.

5. Violence
Violence in the home where the mother is a victim of abuse by the father and the children witness this violence and grow up with this violence they may think it is natural and repeat the violence upon their own mates and children.

6. Education
life is so hetic and just surviving is so important that a childs education is put last on many parents list of importance. the children fall through the cracks they go to school, act up won't study or can't study and know one makes them study. there is no interaction with the teacher or the school and the child fails for lack of there parents caring.

7. Working Parents
Working parents some parents have to work more than one job and they cannot afford to spend quality time with their children. to put food on the table they have to be away from home and the children suffer. they have to fend for themselves, cook for themselves and take care of younger sisters and brothers.

8. Poverty
Poverty tears families apart the neighboorhoods they must live in where there is violence and drugs, prostitution and the homeless. merely exsisting from hand to mouth can be devasting to a child whose daily lifestyle is hopelessness and not having his minimal needs meet with crime and violence meeting him when walking out his door.

9. Pressure to live above ones means or up to another's ideals
adults give into pressure also through advertisements and feeling they have to adopt a certain lifestyle. or maintain a status quo. since the adults are falling into these pressures so does the child. they will get the impression that their surroundings are never satisfactory. This could lead into peer pressure and an unhealthy desire to be excepted by ones peers. wearing clothes, hairstyles, expensive tennis shoes keeping up with the joneses so to speak. smoking dope, drinking and driving, partying and having sex these are all the pressures a child can be exposed to trying to fit in with their peers.

10. Discrimination/racism by Government, institutions, and authority figures
when families experience or believe that they are continually experiencing various forms of discrimination and or racisim they will view the authority figures as an enemy. therefore children will see stereotypical heroes such as fire fighters, police officers and educators as figures to be mistrusted or to be suspicious of. (intent)
Respect for those in authority, such as parents, teachers the law, police and each other if a child does not have respect for adults he will not have respect for any one else. he will curse be disrespectful to any one they will act out, act up and be an embrassment to their parents.