In today’s “go, go, go” culture, anxiety, and stress seem to be a typical part of adult life. Indeed, anxiety is a normal emotion, but for younger children, feeling anxious may be a more confusing and even frightening experience. Kids may not understand or have the words for what they’re experiencing and may believe there is something terribly wrong with them. Given that anxiety disorders are currently the most commonly experienced childhood mental disorders (as many as one in five children meet criteria for a diagnosis), it’s all the more crucial that parents and caregivers are equipped to identify and communicate with their kids about anxiety.
Describing Anxiety to Preschool and Elementary School-Aged Children
The first step in supporting younger children with anxiety is learning to identify when it is happening. This can be difficult, given that symptoms of anxiety can manifest differently from child to child: one might complain of stomach aches, whereas another might cry when dropped off at school or left in a dark room. Parents should be vigilant for signs of shyness, deviations from a child’s normal behavior (such as avoiding situations or people) or recurring, vague physical complaints.
Parents can and should gently ask questions about their children’s fears and worries on a regular basis. Approach the situation calmly and with curiosity, speaking from what’s observed rather than making assumptions or interpretations. Use phrases like “I’ve noticed that _______. Can we talk about that together?”
The experience of anxiety is threefold: it can occur in thoughts, feelings and in body sensations. While younger children may not have the language or abstract thinking ability to talk about their thoughts, they can communicate their feelings (using words like “scared,” “nervous” or “worried”). They can be taught to connect sensations in their head, chest, and stomach to anxiety. Kids may benefit from creative or imaginative approaches to describing how anxiety affects their bodies, such as visualizing themselves tightly wound up like a spring or with shoulders up to their ears (a demonstration from a parent or trusted loved one can make this clearer).
Encourage, Normalize, Validate: Talking to Children About Anxiety
Once anxiety is identified, parents can make space for conversation with their children by following these steps:
At the same time, parents should be careful not to feed into a child’s anxiety by allowing avoidance to continue. For example, if a child experiences social anxiety, the parent may be tempted to respond by never taking the child to a peer’s birthday party. While this reduces the worry about being around others at the moment, it reinforces the child in thinking that she cannot manage her anxiety.
Moreover, it reduces opportunities for the child to develop greater comfort in social situations. Parents can prompt gentle, gradual exposure to feared situations while offering reassurance, conversation, and empathy to support the child’s growth. If the fear continues to interfere with a child’s functioning despite parental interventions, consulting a mental health professional who specializes in treating children may be helpful.
Provide Support and Tools to Decrease Anxiety
Parents can serve as powerful models for their anxious children by demonstrating and openly practicing anxiety management skills. All of these suggestions are modifiable and effective for any age.
Once children have a handle on the above techniques and feel comfortable talking about anxiety, they can get in on the action as well. Kids may be able to recognize anxiety in friends or schoolmates and often feel empowered and in control of their worries when they can share the tools they’ve learned.
A Final Word on Self-Care
For parents and children alike, the value of a regular and intentional self-care routine cannot be overstated. Irregular sleep, poor nutrition, a jam-packed schedule and lack of activity can all contribute to and intensify anxiety, so taking steps to correct these problems if present is vital. Families might consider instituting a daily check-in of Brillia’s five pillars, both to instill and follow healthier habits and to combat anxiety in a frazzled world.
