Dealing with an anxious child might turn a simple usual morning into a daunting challenge. For some children, small issues may turn into gigantic fears. But with the right method and communication you can help your child feel reassured. All kids get stressed sometimes, they have fear of not getting picked for the football team or worrying over how the first day would go. The kid with anxiety may usually stop eating, sleeping, or going to school. Moreover, a child’s anxiety can have a ripple effect on the family. Here are some tips for parents with anxious children:
- STOP REASSURING YOUR CHILD:
This comes on the top of the child anxiety handling tips Although your child desperately wants to listen to you but all your reassurance falls on deaf ears. Try rationalizing your way to your child’s heart and brain.
Freeze-pause yourself and takes some deep breaths, this will calm you.
Empathize- For your child, anxiety is the scariest demon he/she has to face and therefore they need you to know it is also the same for you.
Evaluate- Once your child calms down, figure out the problem with him rationally.
Let go: While people may ignore this part but the key to being an amazing parent is to let go of your guilt, silly mistakes and worries that your child constantly irritates you. These are the best tips for parents with anxious children.
- HELP THEM THROUGH A CHECKLIST/ROUTINE:
Think about a plane that just caught fire and is burning down. Do you know what the pilot does? He refers to a checklist given to him because during such high adrenaline rush you cannot always think clearly no matter how much you have trained or experienced the situation. In the same way, when kids face anxiety they face the same emotion. Therefore, they should always know what to do when such rush comes. Pausing the breath and evaluating the given situations can be on the checklist. It will not only make your children stronger from the inside but they would develop such a routine that whenever they face anxiety they would know exactly what to do.
Sometimes all you need is the right amount of care, rationalization, affection and self-compassion while dealing with an anxious child. Things like these make for great child anxiety handling tips.