Anxiety: How to manage it in your child

By Kasha Zabielo (Director and Principal Psychologist) 

Managing childhood anxiety can be challenging, but there are several strategies that can be helpful:

1. Validate your child’s feelings: Let your child know that it is normal to feel anxious and that their feelings are valid. Encourage them to express their feelings and thoughts.
2. Teach relaxation techniques: Encourage your child to practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, or progressive muscle relaxation.
3. Create a calm environment: Create a calm and predictable environment at home. Establish routines and schedules to help your child feel more secure.
4. Provide reassurance: Reassure your child that they are safe and loved. Let them know that they can talk to you about anything that is worrying them.
5. Model coping skills: Model healthy coping skills for your child. Let them see how you manage stress and anxiety in your own life.
6. Limit exposure to triggers: Try to limit your child’s exposure to triggers that can cause anxiety, such as news stories, violent movies, or scary stories.
7. Seek professional help: If your child’s anxiety is interfering with their daily life or causing significant distress, it may be helpful to seek professional help from a therapist or counsellor.

Remember that managing childhood anxiety is a process that may require trial and error to find what works best for your child. With patience, support, and the right resources, your child can learn to manage their anxiety and lead a happy, healthy life.

Psychologists can provide effective, evidence-based interventions and supports to help support individuals suffering from anxiety. If you would like support in this please give the Solutions In Mind team a call.