We will all fall short sometimes and so will our children with anxiety or OCD. They will avoid, they will crumble, they will give in to their anxiety or OCD. That is all par for the course. More often than not they will view these situations as “failures.” They might beat themselves up or use the experience as evidence that they can’t do it again.
Helping the Siblings of Kids with Anxiety or OCD Anxiety and OCD don’t just live within our child, it lives within our home. It impacts everyone in the family, including the siblings. What happens to the sibling when all eyes are focused on the child with anxiety or OCD? What happens to them when there are big meltdowns, panic attacks, and overwhelm. What happens when […]
How to Stop Panic Attacks from Ruling Your Child’s Life Sometimes we focus so much on how to stop panic attacks that we miss an even bigger problem, avoidance. What’s even more debilitating than panic attacks is the panic around having them. Panic attacks create a knee-jerk reaction of avoidance. They might avoid going to school, going out with friends, or going to the movies. […]
How to Lovingly Detach from Our Kids Anxiety or OCD Kids with anxiety or OCD need an anchor. They need us to be a rock that helps ground them through the chaos. Unfortunately, we cannot do that when we are so immersed in their struggles that we are drowning right along with them. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I talk about learning how […]
Beating OCD or Anxiety Starts with Accepting This So much of anxiety or OCD is the illusion of control. If I do this, then nothing bad will happen. If I wash enough, I won’t get contaminated. If I say this in my head, the discomfort will go away. If I ask this question (again), then I’ll feel reassured. The only problem is we don’t have […]
When OCD is Misdiagnosed as Learning Issues OCD doesn’t just stay in our home, it likes to wreak havoc in all areas of life, including at school. OCD intrusive thoughts and compulsions can make a child look like they: Struggle to read Struggle to write Struggle to do math equations Struggle to complete assignments Struggle with comprehension Struggle with focus Struggle with expression Struggle with […]
Helping Kids Discover Core Fears Driving Anxiety or OCD Our kids can have a million different intrusive thoughts, anxious feelings and compulsive behaviors. But often there will be a core fear that groups these fears together. It is important to note, that regardless of what theme or core fear a child has, the framework of how to address OCD or anxiety is exactly the same. […]
Letting Go of How Life Should Be We have expectations about how our children’s lives should be. We have expectations about how our family should be. This can be reinforced by friends, family or even the school system. So what happens when all those expectations fall short? What happens when we look at our reality and it doesn’t match up? Parenting is messy and we […]
Issues that Like to Partner with Anxiety or OCD Anxiety and OCD don’t live in an isolated bubble. I wish they did! But unfortunately they often like to hang out with several other issues. The tricky part is knowing how to handle those issues differently, because they require us to do so. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I talk about five common issues […]
Kids Who Worry Stuffed Animals and Toys Have Feelings Most kids get attached to stuffed animals or cute toys. But what if they thought those objects had feelings and it was their job to keep them safe? When you add anxiety or OCD into the mix, it could become a full time job. It can impact their sleep. What if I roll over them? It […]
Helping Kids Process an OCD Diagnosis It can be overwhelming to realize that your child or teen has OCD. It can be even more overwhelming to tell them. How do you explain it? How do you help them have a positive mindset? In this week’s kid/teen Youtube video, I talk to kids who were recently told they have OCD. I talk about hope, I talk […]
Handling Toddler & Preschooler Sleep Issues One of the first signs of anxiety in young children is sleep disturbance! Sleep disturbance can have a ripple effect throughout a child’s day. It can make them more cranky, anxious and irritable. It can make us, as parents, exhausted and impatient. That’s why I thought it would be helpful if I brought Allison, a sleep and wellness coach, […]
Helping Kids with Limiting Beliefs Around Anxiety or OCD I can’t do it. I’ll never beat it. It will always be like this! Those types of limiting beliefs are not only hard to hear, but they can become a self fulfilling prophecy. In this week’s Youtube video for kids and teens I talk about limiting beliefs and how kids can take small steps to slowly […]
Ugly Parenting Moments and How to Repair Them We all have our ugly moments as parents. We all show up in ways we don’t want to show up for our kids with anxiety or OCD. But what do we do after those ugly moments are over? In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore what triggers ugly parenting moments and how we can repair […]
Calling out Anxiety or OCD When a Child is Angry We talk about helping our kids realize when it is their anxiety or OCD ruling their behavior. But what happens when we get a loud bark when we do it? Is it a bad sign if our child gets angry? Should we stop? In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I talk about when and […]
