Katie was a bubbly four-year-old who used to love going to the playground. Now, she does not want to step out of her house, finds it difficult to sleep, has lost her appetite and falls sick often.
Katie is displaying typical signs of stress, said Singaporean-based developmental psychologist Dr Albert Liau. He says that stress is easily triggered among young children in kindergarten and primary school due to higher expectations of society peer pressure, dysfunctional families, loss of community and over-exposure to mass media and the Internet.