Children need to realize that the world is a better place because they are in it. Understanding the importance of personal contribution can serve as a source of purpose and motivation.

Although stress is a part of life and growing up, you need to intervene when you sense that it is undermining your child's physical or psychological well-being. Here are some clues that stress may be having too negative an effect.

• Your child develops physical symptoms like headaches and stomach pains.
• He seems restless, tired, and agi­tated.
• He appears depressed and is un­communicative about how he feels.
• He gets irritable, negative, and shows little excitement or plea­sure in his activities.
• He seems less interested in an ac­tivity that was once extremely im­portant to him and prefers to stay at home.
• His grades at school begin to fall, and he has less interest than usual in attending classes and doing homework.
• He exhibits antisocial behavior such as lying and stealing, forgets or refuses to do his chores, and seems much more dependent on you than in the past.