One of the most common worries I see in my therapy practice, is the worry about bad guys. What if someone breaks in? What if someone kidnaps me? What if someone murders me? What if I get attacked while I’m in the backyard? What if someone is hiding in my closet?
Don’t feel alone raising a child with anxiety or OCD. Tell me your biggest struggle and I will give you a video tip and resource guide based on your particular needs. YES! PLEASE HELP Do you wonder why your child is having a hard time sleeping? Believe it or not, it can be for many reasons. It is important to understand why your child can’t […]
Don’t feel alone raising a child with anxiety or OCD. Tell me your biggest struggle and I will give you a video tip and resource guide based on your particular needs. YES! PLEASE HELP Helping a Socially Anxious or Shy Kid Make New Friends I sat there quietly. Maybe it looked like I was sad, angry or annoyed. Regardless of how I looked, it definitely […]
In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast episode, I talk about why many of our kids with anxiety or OCD have the hardest time when they are us. And why it often has nothing to do with the parenting.
Don’t feel alone raising a child with anxiety or OCD. Tell me your biggest struggle and I will give you a video tip and resource guide based on your particular needs. YES! PLEASE HELP Helping Kids Who Worry About What Other People Think Are they staring at me? Are they texting back and forth…about me. Did I just see that kid whisper while looking at […]
For some kids there is a growing feeling of dread and doom as the first day of school looms closer. Is your child nervous to go back to school? They are not alone.
What if I throw up? What if I get sick? What if I fail that test? What if they don’t like me? Kids with anxiety have tons of what if’s. More often than not, to help reduce anxiety we reassure them that these “bad” things aren’t going to happen.
The kids are huddled in the corner of the room. It is dark. It is quiet. They are told not to talk. They are told to hide behind objects and lock the classroom door. Some kids are shaking. Some kids have wide eyes. This is not an emergency situation. These are lockdown drills.
We all see anxiety differently. We bring our own baggage, or own history and our own issues along for the ride. Often moms and dads see anxiety differently. Sometimes it can be the source of disagreements and hurt feelings. And sometimes it can open our eyes to a new way of looking at things. How often do we view child anxiety from a father’s perspective?
Are you upset? Are you mad? Are you mad at me? These are the questions that many anxious kids desperately ask when people around them aren’t happy. There is good reason for it, sensitive children feel people’s emotions. I mean really feel them. So how do you help your sensitive child?
Bumpy socks, lumpy food, loud noises, large crowds, startling automatic toilet flushers… are just a few things that can completely overwhelm some of our anxious kids. But don’t make the mistake of putting them in the same category with all your child’s other anxiety issues.
Anxiety and OCD want to rule the show. They want to be in control. They wants to make all the first moves. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can teach your kids how to take the power back. How to not only react to anxiety or OCD, but how to purposely poke back.
You are learning how to be a parent from a very young age, even from toddlerhood. Seriously! Everything you see, every interaction you have, will impact how you parent your own children. This can be inspiring or daunting depending on what type of childhood you had. But regardless of whether it was good, bad or in between you get to decide how your childhood influences your parenting. This is especially true when you parent an anxious child.
When we ask our kids to face their fears, it can be like asking them to jump off a cliff. Swim with sharks. Jump out of an airplane. All of which I know I would never want to do. That is why offering good incentives is key when trying to get kids to work on anxiety or OCD.
Ahhh. You finally have a nice break. Your child is curled up on the couch with little to no plans of ever moving. And frankly, you feel the same way. It might have been a tough school year of stress, anxiety and challenges. But ironically, there is no better time than the summer to work on anxiety or OCD.
