Helping Your Child with Fears and Worries 2nd Edition: A self-help guide for parents

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Jain and Tsabary say it's critical to teach children to listen to their inner voice, that they call each person's "internal GPS system that guides their actions." Encourage your anxious child to write out the best thing that can happen in a certain situation, the worst thing that can happen and the most likely outcome. Jain says exploring different outcomes helps a child better assess the real probability of something happening. Encourage them to be mindful Written by two of the UK’s foremost experts on childhood anxiety, this extremely useful guide will enable you to understand what is causing your child’s worries and to carry out step-by-step practical strategies to help him or her to overcome them, including: Please note that the programme does not provide direct therapy for the child and instead equips parents with the skills needed to support their child.

Written by two of the UK's foremost experts on childhood anxiety, this extremely useful guide will enable you to understand what is causing your child's worries and to carry out step-by-step practical strategies to help him or her to overcome them, including: For example, if your child is worried about going to a sleepover, it is natural to want to tell them not to go. However, this could mean your child feels that their anxiety will stop them from doing things. If your child's anxiety is severe, persists and interferes with their everyday life, it's a good idea to get some help.From the age of around 6 months to 3 years it's very common for young children to have separation anxiety. They may become clingy and cry when separated from their parents or carers. This is a normal stage in a child's development and should stop at around age 2 to 3. Encourage. Praise your child's effort and progress. Tell them what they said or did that made you proud. Help them relax so that stress and worry don't build up. Children can feel anxious about different things at different ages. Many of these worries are a normal part of growing up.

Children often find change difficult and may become anxious following a house move or when starting a new school. Spend time with them. Do this every day, even if it's just a few minutes. Do things together that you both enjoy. Go for a walk, cook, eat, play — or just hang out. Find ways to smile and laugh together. This keeps the bond between you strong and positive. And it creates moments for kids to open up naturally. Families will find themselves struggling to do things as they normally would, that family functioning is disrupted and they are required to make significant adjustments to accommodate how the young person is feeling or responding Help kids think of how to handle things. Help them feel capable. Don't jump in to solve things for them. Instead, invite kids and teens to think of what they can do. Support their good ideas. Talk it through together. Remind them of times they tried something new and it went well. Offer to help as needed. Break things down into steps and do these as often as possible so a young person can habituate and tolerate their anxiety before going onto the next step

What makes children anxious?

One of the biggest factors that influences our resilience is the way that we interpret our adversity. So it's not just the challenge, it's the way that you look at the challenge," Jain says. She says lots of teachers and adults already say things to children like "Don't say, 'I can't do it right.' Say 'I can't do it yet.'"

Children who have had a distressing or traumatic experience, such as a car accident or house fire, may have anxiety afterwards. They might say, 'I don't really care. I feel like it's more dangerous to go in a plane,'" Jain says. Parents and carers can get help and advice about children's mental health from Young Minds' free parent helpline on 0808 802 5544, from Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4pm.It's better to recognise their anxiety and suggest solutions to help them, so they can go to the sleepover with a plan in place. Other ways to ease anxiety in children Soothe and comfort. At times, kids and teens may feel overwhelmed by worry. In those moments, trying to talk it through isn't likely to help. It might help more to offer comfort and understanding. Remind them that you're there to help them through things that happen. Teach them to use calm breathing to relax their mind and body. If your child is old enough, it may help to explain what anxiety is and the physical effects it has on our bodies. It may be helpful to describe anxiety as being like a wave that builds up and then ebbs away again. So talk with them about their fears. Play and creative activities can help as well. Making up stories together is a great way to talk through their feelings.

But she cautions language and mindset isn't enough. The ability to change takes action and it takes habit. She suggests parents encourage their children to take small chances and then encourage them when they make mistakes to keep trying and making an effort. Lots of people experience worry and anxiety although for some people it can impact on everyday life and get in the way of school/college, socialising and even home life. The types of anxiety that are most common but cause a lot of distress include:CBT programme: 6 support sessions (4 one-hour sessions either face-to-face, by phone or webcam; and two 15 minute sessions via phone or webcam) with an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist. Once you realize that a thought doesn't have power over you and that you can literally just observe it and let it pass, you then decide which thoughts you wish to choose to react to," Tsabary says. Does your child suffer from fears and worries that affect their behaviour or keep them awake at night? Help them expect good things. Ask your child or teen to share what's going well and what they look forward to. Ask about the good things that happen in their day. Tell them about the good things in your day, too. Let them know that it’s OK to talk about worries but it helps to put more focus on the good moments.