Help for Children with Anxiety and Fears
Children with anxiety rely on their parents and loved ones to help them find peace from their anxious suffering. The Children’s Anxiety Institute was developed to be a resource and community for parents and extended family to find the information and tools necessary to guide the children and adolescents in their life through the anxiety, fear, or panic that they may be struggling with so they can reclaim their childhood and lead better lives.
Here you’ll find helpful articles on coping with child anxiety, tactics successfully used by other parents of children with anxiety disorders, audio podcasts with experts, recommendations for helpful resources, and much more to aid you and your child on your journey OUT OF excessive or problematic anxiety. You will also be able to discover more and powerful ways to help your child by reviewing our recommended treatment for child anxiety.
Some anxiety is normal as children progress through life and reach developmental milestones. However, children with anxiety that interferes with their enjoyment of life, or is extreme, often need treatment or adult intervention to quell the inner turmoil they feel and prevent their anxiety in childhood from following them into adulthood and manifesting as an anxiety disorder, depression, or other mental illness.
It may be helpful to examine the questions below to determine if your child may be suffering with anxiety that needs treatment:
- Has my child’s attendance at school changed or are they reluctant to go to school frequently?
- Does my child complain of physical ailments like stomachaches before school or an event which then disappear?
- Has my child seemed unusually, unreasonably, or uncontrollably worried?
- Have I noticed a decline in my child’s motivation at school, ability to concentrate, or memory?
- Have my child’s sleep habits changed? Are they having difficulty falling asleep, staying up later or getting up significantly earlier than usual?
- Has my child been complaining of frequent physical symptoms of anxiety without any medical cause? This often includes stomach or gastrointestinal issues, headaches, muscle soreness, nausea, or excessive sweating.
- Is my child’s response to the news excessive? For instance, are they overly concerned about news of an overseas war or natural disaster?
- Do my child’s worries or fears interfere with their normal life?
- Is my child unduly self-critical or hypersensitive to criticism or negative feedback?
- Does my child seem nervous in social settings or do they attempt to avoid them?
- Is transitioning from one activity to another troublesome for my child?
- Has there been a major life event that effects my child such as a divorce, parental absence, economic change, illness, death, or other trauma?
- Do you find the need to constantly reassure your child?
- Has your child regressed developmentally, such as forgetting toilet training or other acquired skills?
- Does your child seem generally happy?
- Are there outbursts of unexplained or excessive anger with your child?
If you answered “Yes” to a significant number of the above questions, you owe it to your child, your family, and yourself to browse our website and discover additional information and resources to help you help your child with their anxiety, such as the treatment approach discussed here.
Click Here to Read About Treating Child Anxiety
