When Your Child's Anxiety is Making You Anxious: Repeat These 22 Phrases. When Your Anxious Child Rejects Your Help, Try This. The worry begins as a trickle in your son’s (or daughter’s) mind.
It develops momentum and drops into his body causing his palms to sweat, heart to race, and tummy to ache. Finally, your child’s worry erupts: “Mommy, what if I have a new teacher in school?” “Daddy, what if I can’t find someone to play with?” The words hit you. You try reassurance: “Honey, everything is going to be OK, I promise.” You invoke logic: “It wasn’t so bad last time, remember? You lend strength: “You’re strong and brave. You teach coping skills: “Take some deep breaths. The result? And you? If this is how you feel as the parent or caretaker of an anxious child, you are not alone. Instead of focusing on the end goal of reducing the anxiety, begin with a powerful baby step.
Note: If you’re feeling tired or even angry as a result of your recent experiences trying to help an anxious child, please do this before using any of the techniques below. Use the Fast-Food Rule Tell a story about yourself Remix the coping skill. How to Consciously Parent an Anxious Child with 3 Powerful Tools. I recently had the honor of sitting down for a chat with Dr.
Shefali Tsabary, pioneer of the conscious parenting movement. Conscious parenting is based on the idea that children have the power to spark a transformation so deep within a parent that we begin to learn and grow alongside them. In other words, raising children is also very much about raising ourselves as parents. I asked for her insight on raising anxious children through the lens of conscious parenting. Below are Dr. When our children suffer, it is like ten thousand arrows pierce our heart. When we watch them anguish, it is like being buried underground with no hope for air. When we watch them obsess over details, worrying about every cloud, bump or twist on this journey of life, it is like our own skin burns with fear as we wonder, “Will they ever just be happy and carefree?” Raising a happy child is the holy grail of parenting. But first, a caveat: All my work is focused on the transformation within the parent. My mandate? 9 Things Every Parent with an Anxious Child Should Try.
As all the kids line up to go to school, your son, Timmy, turns to you and says, “I don’t want to take the bus.
My stomach hurts. Please don’t make me go.” You cringe and think, Here we go again. What should be a simple morning routine explodes into a daunting challenge. You look at Timmy and see genuine terror. 5 Things Never to Say to an Anxious Child. I wanted to sleep with a bat under my pillow.
It was plastic; nonetheless, it was a weapon. I was five years old, and I firmly believed that each night when I went to sleep, a robber would break into the house. I needed something to defend myself (and maybe my family), and my brother’s yellow Wiffle ball bat seemed ideal. Unfortunately, my parents never complied with my request.
They didn’t understand why I was so worried. Anxiety is a word that I use now, based on personal and professional hindsight. So how did my loving parents deal with my countless “what if” questions? My parents’ first line of defense was always reassurance. Please know that my parents are amazing. To help other families going through something similar, I want to point out five phrases that were said to me out of great love yet never helped when I was in the throes of anxiety. 49 Phrases to Calm an Anxious Child. It happens to every child in one form or another – anxiety.
As parents, we would like to shield our children from life’s anxious moments, but navigating anxiety is an essential life skill that will serve them in the years to come. In the heat of the moment, try these simple phrases to help your children identify, accept, and work through their anxious moments. 1. “Can you draw it?” Drawing, painting or doodling about an anxiety provides kids with an outlet for their feelings when they can’t use their words. 2. Being told that you will be kept safe by the person you love the most is a powerful affirmation. 3.
If you tell a child to take a deep breath in the middle of a panic attack, chances are you’ll hear, “I CAN’T!” 4. Marathon runners use this trick all of the time to get past “the wall.” 5. This is especially helpful for older kids who can better articulate the “Why” in what they are feeling.