When a child has been anxious for a long period, parents fall in the negative cycle of not wanting their child to suffer any more. It happens when parents, anticipating a child’s fears try to protect their child will actually exacerbate the child’s anxiety.
Below are some Ideas for helping children escape the cycle of anxiety.
- Managing Anxiety
The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety, but to help a child manage it.
None of us wants to see a child unhappy, but the best way to help children overcome anxiety isn’t to try to remove stressors that trigger it. The answer is to actually help them learn to tolerate their anxiety and function as well as they can, even when they’re anxious. By following this rule the anxiety will decrease or fall away over time.
- Avoid Avoidance
Helping children avoid the things they are afraid of will make them feel better in the short term, but it reinforces the anxiety over the long term. If a child in an uncomfortable situation gets upset, starts to cry not to be manipulative, but just because that’s how she feels and their parents whisk them away, or remove the thing they’re afraid of, they’ve learned that coping mechanism, and that cycle has the potential to repeat itself. So, don’t avoid things just because they make your child anxious.
- Expectations
You can’t tell a child that they won’t fail a test, that they will have fun ice skating, or that another child won’t laugh at them during show & tell. However you can express confidence that they are going to be okay, they will be able to manage and face their fears. Overtime their anxiety level will drop. This gives them confidence that your expectations are realistic, and that you’re not going to ask them to do something they can’t handle. So, express positive, but realistic expectations
Parenting an anxious child can be a lot and so consuming. Between interrupted sleep and constant worries, child anxiety can take a toll on the caregivers. Make sure to prioritise your own health needs so that you have the energy you need to help your child through this difficult time. It so important to take care of your own needs, self care is high on the priority list.
Disclaimer: This article was written and provided by Elke Newell from Spirited New Beginnings , to view the full article please see https://gohealthier.com.au/go-healthier-magazine-print-2/ page 48/49
