Anxiety is one of the problems that most children take to the therapist’s couch these days. After all, it is not always easy to reconcile the demands of modern life with the stress that comes from family conflicts and difficulties at work.
Tips for parents to cope with anxiety on child
We have separated the best tips that also go along with the Bainbridgereview Reporterso that you can work your patience well and guarantee control of your little ones’ anxiety. Check it out below!
1. Know the symptoms of childhood anxiety
First of all, it is worth noting that anxiety is often a totally normal reaction in our body. It is a natural emotion in the face of challenging or dangerous situations. The problem is when children’s anxiety becomes frequent, excessive and out of control — that is, when it affects the children’s daily lives and appears even when there is no imminent risk.
When this happens, anxiety turns into a disorder, negatively impacting the child’s life and the people he or she lives with.
2. Support rather than judge or reprimand
If your child shows any signs that he or she is suffering from an anxiety disorder, the first step in helping him deal with the issue is to keep the doors to your relationship with him wide open. So, don’t ridicule their concerns, increase the demands on the school or punish the child for the difficulty in concentrating.
3. Research the reasons behind anxiety
It is not uncommon for childhood anxiety to be a reaction to temporary stressful situations—such as the arrival of a new baby sibling, the separation of parents, the loss of a loved one, or moving to another city or school. In these cases, it is easier for parents to direct efforts, showing the child how to face that specific challenge, always through incentives that encourage the child’s self-confidence.
However, if the signs we mentioned become more and more frequent and intense, we may be facing a problem that deserves more attention from the family. See the main ones!
4. Train patience with short waits
It is essential to seek to discover the reasons behind your child’s anxiety. Regardless of that, however, you can also exercise your patience to help you calm down in situations of nervousness or just waiting. After all, these skills will be essential in your adult life.
In this way, show the little one how he can be distracted by a magazine, a book or a toy in the doctor’s waiting room, for example.
5. Set an example and deliver on your promises
Parents know very well how children tend to imitate the behavior of adults, even without knowing exactly what that reaction means. Sometimes the copy is so exact it’s comical! Given this, it is clear that one of the best ways to teach a child to be patient is to show patience and tolerance with him.
6. Respect the child’s limitations
This tip is perhaps one of the most difficult for parents to follow, as they often also have to put up with their own anxiety when the child throws a tantrum or doesn’t understand why they need to wait for guests to break the birthday cake, for example.
In addition to requiring an extra dose of goodwill not to give in to the child’s strategies to get what he wants, it also takes parents to differentiate situations of pure temper and lack of discipline from those in which there are real reasons for stress.
7. Develop relaxing activities
To make it more playful, you can do it like this:
- Ask the little one to lie down on his back;
- Put something on your belly, such as a teddy bear or your own hand;
- Guide the child to breathe deeply;
- Show that when you pull in air, the toy or hand goes up, and when you let go of air, it goes down.
Help the child do this exercise several times, paying attention to the movements, as this will help shift the focus away from the worry that caused the anxiety.
8. Develop an open dialogue with the little one
The time – sharing and dialogue are very important for the little-ones to expose their fears and, from that, they can start dealing with them. You can even help your child better understand anxiety and its causes. To do so, encourage her to talk about her annoyances and thus be able to demystify her fear.
9. Don’t always avoid the causes of anxiety
Of course, parents want to avoid situations that harm their children’s well-being. However, it is not always healthy to avoid the origins of anxiety at all costs, as the child will not be able to deal with them. The ideal is to help the little one to face their fears in a progressive way.
10. Know when it’s time to seek treatment
Finally, it is essential to emphasize the importance of seeking professional help when children’s anxiety is compromising their life and relationships with other people, preventing them from carrying out their daily tasks and enjoying moments without worry.