Teaching Your Child How To Better Deal With Anxiety

Children in your neighborhood wait in queue as they prepare for the arrival of the school bus. However, just when the bus arrives your child says he cannot take the bus. He does not want to be in the bus and that his stomach starts to feel bad - these are just some of the many warning signs that your child has anxiety. Even if something is already a part of your child’s routine and even if a certain task does not require rocket science to figure out, your child still complains about having stomach pains. No matter how you reassure him, you still find yourself getting frustrated at his responses. Don’t worry. You are not alone in this daunting situation. In fact, statistics shows that one out of eight children was found to suffer from anxiety. The good news is that there are many ways to help your child cope with the situation while you also save your sanity. Check out the following tips. Stop giving reassurances. Parents usually have the habit of reassuring their kids by saying “It’s okay. Don’t worry I’m here.” Or, “Stop crying, everything is going to be alright. ”But, no matter what you say, the child’s ears won’t hear it at all. Although she wants to listen and believe every reassuring word you say, her brain refuses to do so. This is because during periods of anxiety, your child’s brain is being bombarded with chemicals that are needed for that “survival mode” to activate. So, other mental processes won’t take place, making it impossible for your child’s brain to comprehend your reassuring words. Instead of giving reassuring words, let your child take deep breaths with you. Then, make your child feel that you understand that he or she is afraid of something. Even if you do not know exactly what it is that she’s afraid about, you completely understand how she or he feels. In other words, empathize with her. Don’t force her brain to believe that there is nothing to worry about. Instead find a way to keep her calm and only then will you be able to help him reduce his feelings of anxiety. Of course, as a parent, do not worsen the situation by feeling guilty. You are definitely an amazing parent and that you’re doing the best you can. Let your child realize that worrying is normal. Don’t keep on telling your child to stop worrying. Otherwise, you will only be making her worry more about her worries. Tell him that it is completely part of being human to worry about things. Let them know that it is part of our innate defense that enables our body to fight or flee from a dangerous or highly stressful situation. Avoid making her feel that something is not normal about him because he worries about something. Once your child realizes that worrying is normal it will become easier for him to calm down. Teach your child how to evaluate her own thoughts. You may do this by playing with a “bubble game” with your child. These bubbles are like those conversation bubbles that she reads from a comic book. For every thought she has in her mind, there should be a corresponding bubble to it. Then, let her catch each of these bubbles one by one. But, let her assess each bubble by laying out the facts. You and your child must work together towards presenting evidences to support each worried thought. Through this, she will be able to figure out if her worries are unfounded or indeed worth worrying about. You may also teach her to challenge the validity of her worries by practicing debate. Let her debate against her own thoughts by letting her say out loud her arguments. This is not only fun but it also teaches her to be more aware of every thought that enters her mind. If your child’s anxiety is becoming more frequent and more difficult to deal with despite all the efforts you did to help him cope with it, consult a professional. Never let your child’s anxiety to spiral out of control. Otherwise, it will develop into a full-blown disorder that is tougher to deal with.

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