Adopted from an article published by Clark Goldstein, PhD
Is your child experiencing anxiety? If so, here are some suggestions that you may find helpful. The best suggestion is to do what you do best…..love them!!
1. The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety, but to help a child manage it.
2. Don’t avoid things just because they make a child anxious.
3. Express positive—but realistic—expectations
4. Respect feelings, but don’t empower them.
5. Don’t ask leading questions.
6. Don’t reinforce the child’s fears.
7. Encourage the child to tolerate her anxiety.
8. Try to keep the anticipatory period short.
9. Think things through with the child.
10. Try to model healthy ways of handling anxiety.
Some books to consider when helping your child with anxiety
Don’t Feed The WorryBug (Soft Cover Edition)
by Andi Green and Andi Green;Andi Green
Help Hungry Henry Deal with Anxiety: An Interactive Picture Book about Calming Your Worries
Part of: Hungry Henry (4 Books)
by Steve Herman
The Invisible String
by Patrice Karst and Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
A Terrible Thing Happened
by Margaret M Holmes , Sasha J Mudlaff , et al.
What Should Danny Do? (The Power to Choose Series)
by Adir Levy
How To Tame My Anxiety Monster
Mindful Bea and the Worry Tree
by Gail Silver and Franziska Hollbacher
My Body Sends a Signal: Helping Kids Recognize Emotions and Express Feelings
by Natalia Maguire and Anastasia Zababashkina
Outsmarting Worry (An Older Kid’s Guide to Managing Anxiety)
by Dawn Huebner