Use These Tips to Help Your Child Deal With Anxiety
This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see our full disclosure for further information.The world can be a frightening place, and many children have reason to be concerned. Many children, on the other hand, are concerned far more than is acceptable in the circumstances.
Anxiety isn’t always a negative emotion. If a person is in a dangerous position, for example, they should be concerned. Anxiety can be beneficial, but too much or incorrect anxiety can be harmful.
To help your child in overcoming anxiety, use the following strategies:
1. Be patient and supportive. When your child is continuously worried about things that appear to be meaningless or silly, it can be frustrating. Their anxiety, on the other hand, is just as real to them as yours is to you. You have no control over other people’s feelings or anxieties.
- Make it clear to your child that you are sensitive to their feelings and that you are always available to help.
2. Don’t provide too much notice before a stressful situation. It’s better not to announce a dentist appointment three weeks in advance if you know your child is anxious about going to the dentist. It’s OK on the morning of the appointment. “Put on your shoes, we have to go to the dentist,” might be a preferable option to say for some kids.
- Too much notice can give you too much time to be concerned. Determine how much time your child requires to maintain a low level of anxiety. Some kids prefer a little extra time to think about what’s about to happen.
3. Have a discussion about it. Talk about your child’s concerns and why they are concerned. Discuss whether or not this fear is justified. In other words, look for facts to support or refute the fear’s origin.
- If the worry is justified, work together to develop a strategy for dealing with the problem.
- If the worry is unjustified, encourage your child to believe the evidence they discovered that refutes the source of the concern.
4. Assist your child in focusing their attention on the current moment. When we focus our attention on the future and envisage terrible consequences, we can only be concerned. This is often due to habit.
- Teach your child to be present in the moment and to be aware of their surroundings. Show to your child that focusing on what is rather than what might be is more productive.
5. Analyze your own life. Is your child’s home life difficult for him or her? Is there a lot of fighting between you and your child’s other parent, or do you get along well? Is the child aware of any financial pressures in the household?
- Children may appear to be oblivious to what is going on, yet they are remarkably skilled at figuring out what is going on.
6. Avoid avoidance at all costs. You may believe you’re being helpful by helping your child in avoiding everything that makes them anxious, but you’re actually contributing to the problem.
When your child is allowed to escape a situation because of anxiety, a portion of her brain thinks to itself, “Hmmmm. We can avoid performing these things if I make her feel anxious.”
- The brain picks up on what works rapidly. The anxiousness will be even greater the next time. The brain will keep increasing the volume until it achieves its goal.
- Avoiding a stressor provides immediate relief, which is quite satisfying. As the drive to avoid is reinforced, it grows stronger.
- Be encouraging, but don’t let them off the hook.
7. Seek expert assistance. A parent’s ability to properly help a child with moderate to severe anxiety difficulties is quite difficult. Professional assistance is likely to be beneficial. Look for a therapist or psychologist who specialises in children his or her age.
Worry affects a lot of kids. At school, they are subjected to a great deal of social scrutiny, and children can be harsh. They have just a limited amount of influence over their lives. The majority of their lives are governed by their parents or teachers.
It might be painful to watch your anxious child worry all of the time. It’s especially aggravating when their concerns seem little to you. Be patient and supportive, and seek expert assistance if your efforts are insufficient.
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