Observing Children's Stress Behaviors in a Kindergarten Classroom (Report‪)‬

Introduction Stress can be defined as any unusual demand on one's internal or external resources that requires an individual to utilize energy reserves in excess of what would be necessary for dealing with ordinary life events (Hart et al., 1998). Feelings of stress can be exhibited through observable behaviors such as nail biting, thumb or finger sucking, hair twirling, physical hostility, tremors or tics, nervous laughter, helplessness, crying, complaints of physical aches and pains, irritability, outbursts, and withdrawal (Burts, Hart, & Chartlesworth, 1992; Jewett, 1997; Fallin, Wallinga, & Coleman, 2001; Zeigart, Kistner, Castro, & Robertson, 2001).