Parenting kids with anxiety or OCD is hard enough but add all the “well intentioned” comments and thinly veiled judgments and it can be overwhelming. Learn how to not care what others think!
Parenting kids with anxiety or OCD is hard enough but add all the “well intentioned” comments and thinly veiled judgments and it can be overwhelming. Learn how to not care what others think!
Many of us deal with kids who don’t know how to calm down. Kids who rage over the slightest issue or kids who get paralyzed with fear with any small change.
You may not know how to build your child’s coping mechanisms. Many of us throw platitudes like, “calm down” or “you’re fine.” Unfortunately most of the time that doesn’t cut it. Teaching kids coping skills can be hard, but it is such a crucial thing to teach.
OCD is a complete bully. It tells your kids what to do and how to do it. It makes them worry about things they know will never happen. It hijacks their fears and presents them as real. It is truly a cruel disorder. But there is hope. Kids can learn to fight OCD by bullying it back.
You’ve read all the books. You’ve joined all the Facebook groups. You’ve started therapy. Now if your child would just get on board with the whole process – they can really make progress with their issues. But they won’t. They refuse to talk about it. They refuse to fight it. They refuse any and all help. How are you supposed to help kids with OCD or anxiety if they don’t want to help themselves?
If you have a child with any type of anxiety, you are more likely to have a child with anger problems as well. This makes sense. Anxiety is like a pressure cooker. Stress and worry build up over time and eventually it boils over. And when it does – it isn’t pretty. Many parents I work with ask, How do I help my child with anger problems?
One of the most common questions I get asked is, “How do I know if I have OCD?” This question comes from parents, and it even comes from kids directly.
People don’t get OCD, so there is major confusion when trying to figure out if you have OCD or not. Parents often waste valuable time because they don’t recognize the signs of OCD.
For OCD Awareness Week, I sat down with Chris Baier, the Producer of Unstuck: An OCD Kids Movie and asked him the most common questions I get from parents raising kids with OCD.
OCD is a confusing disorder and parenting a child with OCD can be a struggle. Here are three things I want you to know about childhood OCD.
In honor of OCD Awareness Week I am making this week’s podcast about the three most important things I want you to know about childhood OCD.
Don’t forget to spread your own experience and knowledge about living with OCD this week. Share your story and use the hashtag #RealOCD. The more we share, the more we educate.
Is your child a “saver.” Do they have drawers and buckets full of “treasures?” Do they have a huge meltdown if they have to get rid of anything? If you have a child who won’t throw anything away – it might be good to start addressing the issue early.
OCD Symptoms in children is fairly misunderstood in general, but there are some symptoms that no one wants to talk about. These are symptoms that can be grossly misdiagnosed causing kids years if not decades of poor treatment and not an ounce of help. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I go over what these symptoms are and how to spot them in your kids.
If your child has anxiety or OCD the brain loves to tune into the worry channel. These thoughts can consume a young brain and make it almost impossible to focus on anything else. In this week’s Kids Youtube video I teach kids how to take back their mind with this ninja tip.
Your child is refusing to move. Your child is thrashing about. Your child has been screaming for over an hour. Welcome to the world of kids with anxiety or OCD. A world where kids have a hard time coping, self-regulating and “rolling with the punches.”
This is my world and I know that for many of you – it is your world too. A world that leaves you wondering how to handle difficult behaviors that pop up all the time.
One of my favorite people to talk to about behavior is Dayna over at Lemon Lime adventures. Her upbeat, empowering perspective often gives me new insight into how to approach my own kids.
This past week I have enjoyed diving into her Calm the Chaos Workshop and have implemented so many of the a-ha moments into my family.
When you have anxiety or OCD – one of the biggest struggles is battling your thoughts. Constant thoughts. Nagging thoughts. Crippling, scary, overwhelming thoughts. They never stop. Teaching kids how to use mindfulness to cope with this relentless barrage of worries can be incredibly helpful. Mindfulness can help anxiety and OCD in many ways.
Finding things that help kids with anxiety or OCD can be a challenge. Kids don’t always like to use the tools they are given and sometimes it can feel like nothing is helping.
One unexpected thing I have found to work incredibly well is…pets! Furry ones, wet ones, ones that tweet and ones that bark. Any and all pets can help kids with anxiety or OCD.
Exposure Response Prevention, most commonly referred to as ERP, is without a doubt the most effective treatment approach to combating OCD. The tricky part… Getting kids to buy into ERP and see why it is beneficial.
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