Accommodation vs Validation in Kids with Anxiety or OCD Even though we don’t want to accommodate our child’s anxiety or OCD, it doesn’t mean that we can’t support or reassure our kids. Yes, I said reassure our kids. It’s how we reassure our kids that matters. Do we reassure their anxiety or OCD, or do we reassure them. It is important to validate our children’s […]
Anxiety & OCD Struggles Around the Holidays Even though the holidays are exciting, they can bring with it some struggles for our kids with anxiety or OCD. Often these issues are unrelated to their anxiety or OCD themes. The holidays bring with it downtime, gatherings, new foods, busy schedules and high expectations for fun. All of which can cause our kids stress and anxiety. In […]
Raising Multiple Kids with Anxiety or OCD It’s hard enough having one child with anxiety or OCD, but what if you have more than one? What if even your partner or you also struggle? It can be daunting to realize you have a packed house full of anxiety or OCD. Trust me, I get it! But even though we can’t control if this happens, we […]
Do You Blame Yourself for Your Child’s Anxiety or OCD? It’s hard not to focus on what we have done or haven’t done to help our child’s anxiety or OCD. It is a slippery slope and many of us fall into the black abyss of self-blame. In this episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I talk about why parents shouldn’t blame themselves for their […]
What to Do When Your Partner Triggers your Child’s Anxiety or OCD It can be overwhelming when your partner triggers your child’s anxiety or OCD. In the latest episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about how our partner’s can trigger our kids, why that sometimes happens and most importantly…what to do about it! Click here to listen: Subscribe and Listen Later:
Why Consequences Don’t Work on Anxiety or OCD Raising a child with anxiety or OCD is hard enough, but when you disagree with family members on how to approach it, the boat gets even rockier! In my practice I often watched as family members bickered over whether they should consequence behavior that was anxiety or OCD related. I would hear things like: You coddle him […]
When to Push and When Not to Push Our Kids with Anxiety or OCD? Raising a child with anxiety or OCD is a balancing act. We have to learn when to push and when to not push our kids with anxiety or OCD. We want to empower them without overwhelming them. We want to validate their fears without always accommodating them. But how can you […]
Depersonalization, Derealization and Existential Fears Anxiety and OCD can make our kids question everything, including their reality. This is different from a philosophical curiosity to understand the nature of the universe. These thoughts create sheer panic in our kids and teens. In this week’s episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore depersonalization, derealization and existential fears and talk about how we can help […]
Helping Our Kids with Anxiety or OCD by Leaning into Acceptance It is hard to accept that our child has anxiety or OCD. It is even harder to accept the pain, discomfort, and struggle they have to go through each day. But often we spend so much energy trying to swim upstream we get lost in the struggle. In this week’s episode of the AT […]
How to Help Kids Who Are Scared of Needles and Shots Most people aren’t thrilled to get a shot or get poked by a needle, but some of our kids are deathly afraid. This fear can cause severe panic when going to the doctor, the dentist or worse the lab or hospital! In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I invited a co-host who […]
Can my Child Catch Other Anxiety or OCD Themes? Parents will often ask me, “Can my child catch other anxiety or OCD themes?” What if they read a book on OCD or anxiety and it makes it worse? What if they watch a documentary or participate in a support group with tons of other themes discussed? Won’t their anxiety or OCD just get more ideas? […]
Teaching Our Kids with OCD and Anxiety Self-Compassion with Kimberley Quinlan Anxiety and OCD can bring with it distress, fear and discomfort. But it can also bring self-loathing, shame, guilt and negative self-talk. When our kids are hard on themselves, their issues can compound, making it difficult for them to use their tools to address anxiety or OCD. In this episode of the AT Parenting […]
Why We Can’t Make Our Child’s Anxiety or OCD Go Away None of us like to see our kids suffer. That’s why it’s so hard to see our kids struggle with anxiety or OCD. It can consume their life and ours and that’s heartbreaking. But no matter how badly we would like to take their anxiety or OCD away from them, we just don’t have […]
How to Handle When You and Your Child Both have Anxiety or OCD Anxiety and OCD are both highly genetic, so it’s not surprising that many parents find themselves raising kids with similar issues. Often though, many of us back burner our own help to focus on our children’s needs. But what if focusing on your needs also helps your child’s struggles? In this episode […]
How to Not Compare Your Child to Other Kids The comparing game can be so tempting. Why can her kids do that and mine can’t? Why is it so easy for them and everything is so difficult for us? Why do we have to go through this? I wish my child was like that. Trust me I get it, I live it. But in this […]
