American Psych Assoc on Stress

“Even though children know when their parents are stressed and admit that it directly affects them, parents are grossly underestimating the impact that their stress is having on their children,” says psychologist Katherine C. Nordal, PhD, APA’s executive director for professional practice. “It’s critical that parents communicate with their children about  how to identify stress triggers and manage stress in healthy ways while they’re young and still developing behavioral patterns. If children don’t learn these lessons early on, it could significantly impact their physical health and emotional well-being down the road, especially as they become adults.”

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/11/stress-in-america.aspx