Most children appear to be happy and easy-going, except for when things don’t go their way. But, despite their young age and relative inexperience in life, children do experience worry and anxiety.
There are many reasons why this can happen. Heading back to a place that has stressful memories is one trigger, as is the thought of a test or some other special event. You should note that it’s normal for children to worry and doesn’t mean they have an anxiety disorder.
The key is to recognize our child is worrying and help them deal with it. This is a skill that will serve them well through life. You should also ensure that your childcare supplier is on the same page. Reputable establishments, such as this Liverpool childcare, will be aware of the signs of worry in children and know how to alleviate them.
Here are 4 things you can do to help.
1. Worry Time
The best first step is to set up a specific worry time. This should be daily and isn’t an opportunity for your child to worry more! Instead, they should recognize this time as secure, allowing them to express their worries to you.
In some cases, talking about worries is enough to overcome them. Simply voicing them can make them sound silly. In others, this is your cue to start talking to your child about their worries.
2. Build Confidence
Many childhood worries come from a fear of the unknown. This can be having to do something different at school, going to a new place, or even visiting the dentist for the first time.
The key to reducing worrying is to talk to your child about how essential and beneficial these experiences are. Then, when they’ve completed the event tell them how well they did. This will build their confidence, allowing them to tackle new things without the worry.
3. Explore The Fear
It’s also a good idea to explore the fear. For example, the worry about going to the dentist could be because they don’t know what to expect. Or, it could be because the last time they went it was unpleasant or hurt.
Talking to your child will allow you to highlight the issue and look at a cure. After all, if your dentist is accidentally hurting your child you’re going to want to speak to them or use an alternative dentist.
This demonstrates to your child that they can take control of any situation, helping to reduce worry in the future.
4. Face It
Finally, there are some things in life that can appear scary but still need to be done. In these instances, your child needs to learn to simply face their fear and move past it. No matter how much they worry they can’t change an event happening, it’s better to simply deal with the event and know that it’s done.
This is the hardest option but an important lesson as there will always be things that worry or frighten people in life.
