helping child with anxiety

 

If your child is anxious, then there are several things that you can do to help them. Many childhood fears are a part of the maturing process. For example, young children may have stranger anxiety while older children may be afraid of imaginary things, like monsters under the bed.

Studies show that one of the long-term effects of social distancing is that children are more fearful than before COVID 19. Social isolation has caused children to not get over some fears as quickly as usual because they have not been around their peers, where children often work through their fears together. Therefore, social distancing may have delayed their development in this area.

Encourage Your Child to Use Words

If your child is old enough to be vocal, then encourage them to use words to tell you what they are afraid of when they seem anxious. It is often not what you think that they are fearing. Take the time to listen to their fears and repeat them back to them in different words to be sure you understand what they are saying. Then, spend some time explaining to them why their fears are unrealistic (in the cases that they are). Often, reading a book aimed at their age level with them can be a great place to start.

Give Them Something Special

If your child is fearful when leaving you, then give them something special, like a rock, to stick in their pocket to remind them that you said that you were coming back. You may also want to rub a favorite essential oil mixed with a carrier oil on their wrist. Then, each time they feel fearful, they can take a whiff and remember that you promised to return.

Face Unrealistic Fears With Your Child

Some fears will seem very weird to you, but you need to understand that they are real to your child. For example, if your child is currently afraid of monsters under their bed, spray the room each night with monster spray. Then, explain to the child that the mist, really room freshener, will keep the monsters away.

While social isolation may be a thing of the past, the long-term effects of social distancing may still be experienced by your child. If your child seems to be still experiencing anxiety from social distancing, we invite you to contact us for a free initial phone consultation to discuss this with you.

 

 

Existing Patients and New Patients, Call us to schedule an appointment, get a prescription refill or just to ask a question:

Call 414-877-4570

New Patients ONLY - Want to contact us through a form? CLICK HERE to fill out our contact form.