Coping with anxiety can be challenging both for parents and their children. The first step to helping our children better cope with anxiety is learning to listen and support the unique needs of the child. Teaching our children to “be okay” with not being okay is an important first step. This creates openness and acceptance to process their emotions. We also need to help our children identify how anxiety impacts the way they think, feel, and act, to cultivate emotional awareness. Learning about how anxiety impacts the way we think and feel provides clues in areas where our children may learn new strategies to cope with anxiety. Emotional awareness can then lead to emotional regulation.
A Helpful Resource
Anxiety Canada provides practical resources for parents and youth to help manage physical symptoms of anxiety, improve thinking patterns, and identify supportive plans to help our children face their fears. Your child may also benefit from working with a counselor to develop an anxiety management program based on Anxiety Canada.
Helpful Links
The following video and article provide parents with a practical understanding of how anxiety impacts a child’s brain and body. https://www.anxietycanada.com/
