How Can I Support My Child's Anxiety?
The last 18 months have been a little overwhelming and unpredictable, to say the least. A lot of us are feeling a little shell shocked. For those of us in Melbourne, the uncertainty and fear continues. I think when we’re ‘in it’ we often don’t see the psychological ramifications of the heightened stress that we’re feeling. We might also miss the impact all this is having on our kids. Children are resilient, that is for sure. However, uncertainty, the lack of socialising, and constant change can really begin to wear them down. For all of us, especially children, predictability, consistency and security help us to feel mentally well and emotionally stable. Here at Piece by Piece Therapies we are seeing an influx in referrals from parents who are concerned about their child’s anxiety and are unsure how to support them. Thankfully there are some really small easy things you can do as parents and care givers to reassure your little ones and help support their anxiety or worries.
Here are six tips to help support your child’s anxiety:
Validate their feelings - this helps children feel understood and heard.
Avoid - giving them too much reassurance or taking them away from situations that cause them worry as this doesn’t teach them to be resilient.
Praise Brave Behaviour - this can empower your child and help to improve their tolerance for fear.
Make a Worry Box -Create a box that can ‘store’ their worries for them. Write down each worry and pop them in the box. This can help the child have a ‘break’ from their worries for a little while. Make sure to check back on what’s in the box from time to time to see if they are still worries or if they have successfully managed them. It’s also a great arts and craft activity!
Read them a book - this can help normalise anxiety and it teaches children about worries in a kid-friendly way.
Children look to the trusted adults in their lives to model appropriate and safe ways to manage their feelings, especially anxiety. It’s also important to look after yourself through these difficult times because well parents, parent well.
If you’re curious to learn more about anxiety, check out our blog post here. We have also written a great post on how to look after yourself during the pandemic and, especially, during lockdown here.
At Piece by Piece Therapies we are committed to supporting people during these difficult times. If you, a loved one, or your child, would like some additional support in managing their anxiety please feel free to click the button below and get in touch, we are Psychologists especially trained in supporting and treating anxiety.
Stay Safe!