FREE SUPPORT
For parents & carers of children experiencing anxiety
The world took a dramatic turn in 2020, our children went from a safe secure world to one where they were surrounded by fear and uncertainty.
As parents and carers, you did the best you could to give them words of comfort and consistent routines to keep their world as 'normal' as you could.
Some people took it in their stride, but most had to learn a whole new way of living and this has left some of our children (and adults) struggling with anxiety, especially separation anxiety.
Supporting Your Children at Home
Having become an anxiety and panic specialist I have had many parents message me and ask if I could offer them advice.
As not every parent has the time or money to work with me so I have put together a support page for parents of children with anxiety, mainly separation anxiety.
What I will cover:
Putting words to Emotions
Giving you and your children the words and tools to identify and acknowledge how they feel
Fun Games to Build Confidence
I understand you may be very busy so my games are always easy to add into a busy family lifestyle
Skills for Reducing Anxiety
There are certain things we all need to reduce and manage anxiety, these skills are lifelong and worth learning
Putting Words to Emotions
- Help the child to understand their feelings and put names to them.
- Encourage the use of feeling words and help them not feel ashamed of having them
- Identify and acknowledge if your child is a strong emotion child (you may call them sensitive)
- If they are, help them to see it as a positive characteristic and not a weakness
- We often expect our children to have and experience emotions that we can not even understand ourselves.
- Get in touch with your own emotions and acknowledge them in front of your child
- Do not be afraid to cry in front of your child, simply explain that you are feeling sad, overwhelmed, or lonely
- Help your child to understand it is okay to feel that emotion and it will pass.
- Doing this allows your child to feel what they are feeling and to name it.
- Make emotions normal and take that pressure off their shoulders.
Fun Games to Build Confidence
- Add in confidence boosters so your child feels more able to take on the world!
- These can be done on the walk/drive to school, over breakfast or dinner or at night time, your family is unique so do whatever works for you.
- You can mix the game up and set each other challenges
- Confidence-boosting games get the brain thinking in positive ways
Certainty and Safety
- One of our basic human needs is safety. When we don't feel safe we panic it's as simple as that.
- Fight and flight kick in and your body will respond with physical feelings such as a fast heartbeat, sweating, and adrenaline in your legs to help you run away.
- When the fear is emotional you have no need to run but the panic is there and it is just as real.
- For this reason, we all seek out safety, and for most children, and a lot of adults, that safety comes in the form of their parents, often their mum.
- The solution is the same for both children and adults, help them to be their own safe person. Help them to believe that they can stop the fear themselves.
- Anxiety needs certainty to soothe and calm the body to stop the panic.
This information will not take away the anxiety completely because there is always something deeper causing it, but it will help you to manage your child's anxiety. If you found this interesting and you would like to access the full course click the link below.
You can only do your best
As a parent, we put a huge amount of pressure on ourselves to ensure nothing bad happens to our kids and they are happy all the time, but life has ups and downs and children are bound to come across uncomfortable situations. We can not stop this but we can give them the tools to cope well in any new situation.
Everyone is just doing their best, including you. Look after yourself, kids can pick up on their parent's anxiety, so make sure this isn't the case for your little one. Maybe the only thing you need to do is take more time out for yourself.
Every situation is different, these guidelines are extremely general. If you would like a free consultation where we can discuss your unique situation, get in touch today.
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