It is normal for children to feel anxious occasionally. Major life changes, like starting school, moving homes, or family issues, can trigger some anxiety. Nevertheless, excessive, ongoing anxiety that interferes with daily activities may indicate an anxiety disorder. As a parent, it is important to understand the signs and root causes of childhood anxiety to help your child manage difficult feelings.
Pay attention to physical symptoms like stomachaches, trouble sleeping, restlessness, and crying spells, which can indicate anxiety. Emotional signs include excessive worry, panic reactions, clinginess, and repeatedly seeking reassurance. Behavioral symptoms involve avoidance of feared stimuli like separation, social situations, animals, or storms and nervous habits like nail biting. Carefully observing patterns can reveal their specific anxiety triggers. A caring, patient approach can build their confidence. The experts at Aspire Psychological say that in more serious cases, a child behavioral therapist can provide professional support.
Creating a Safe Environment
Children need to feel secure sharing their fears without judgement. Set aside quality one-on-one time to connect. Listen carefully when they open up. Resist diminishing their concerns, which can discourage communication. Instead, offer reassurance that you want to understand how they feel. Designate cozy spaces in your home where they can relax and self-soothe during bouts of anxiety. Respect when they need solitude or sensory approaches, like listening to calming music, hugging stuffed animals, rocking in a chair, or stimming behaviors. Allowing them agency over designing their refuge can foster feelings of security.
Helping Them Open Up
Some children have difficulty articulating worries and bottle up emotions instead. Gently encourage them to talk through anxious thoughts without pressure. Ask open-ended questions to better grasp what scenarios or activities provoke their anxiety. Consider using books, art, or play to explore anxiety as a less intimidating alternative to direct questions, especially for younger children. For example, read an age-appropriate book about a character coping with anxiety and discuss their thoughts and reactions. Provide art supplies to draw or paint their worries. Incorporate anxiety discussions casually into doll house or action figure play. Most importantly, praise their willingness to share, even if they prefer to withdrawal when very upset.
Teaching Coping Strategies
Equip children with methods to self-regulate anxiety independently. Help them identify physical manifestations of anxiety like stomach aches, restlessness, rapid breathing, or tense muscles. Brainstorm strategies to counteract those symptoms and regain calm. For example, taking deep breaths, going for a walk, squeezing a stress ball, using mindfulness apps, or doing yoga. Experiment together to determine which coping mechanisms work best personally.
Being an Anxiety Role Model
Children often mimic the behaviors and coping abilities demonstrated by parents and caretakers. Anxiety can easily transfer. Evaluate your own anxiety triggers and reactions. Be mindful about verbally or physically expressing excessive stress or worry around your child. Instead, model positive ways to work through challenges.
When to Seek Counseling
Implementing supportive strategies at home may sufficiently help ease your child’s anxiety, especially if caught early. However, chronic intense anxiety that disrupts learning, relationships, sleep, or activities may require counseling intervention. Consult your child’s doctor or school counselor about referring them to a specialist like a child behavioral therapist for evaluation. Therapists help thoroughly assess personal or family dynamics provoking anxiety. Through sessions using cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques like exposure treatment, children can further build confidence, resilience, and independent coping abilities tailored to their needs.
Conclusion
With compassion and care from loved ones and professionals, children have a great capacity to overcome anxiety struggles. With your support, they can get past barriers to engage freely in childhood fun and educational activities critical for their development.