If you have a child with anxiety or OCD they are bombarded daily with horrible, upsetting thoughts. This sea of overwhelming images and ideas can drown kids and pull them into a dark abyss. It can be hard to cope with anxiety or OCD when you are constantly fighting these thoughts.
Kids will often ask what they can do to get some relief from these thoughts, images and ideas. One of the best weapons I have used in my practice is teaching kids to create a “world.”
How to Help Kids Who Worry They Will Never Fall Asleep “But what if I don’t fall asleep?” That’s a question many of us hear from our anxious kids at bedtime. The ironic thing is, the more a child worries they won’t fall asleep, the harder it actually is to do it! So how do you get your kids out of this vicious loop? […]
Empowering Our Kids with Anxiety or OCD to Help Themselves We want the best for our kids. We want our kids to blossom and live a happy fulfilling life. But when our kids start to struggle with anxiety or OCD we might think that rosy picture is gone forever. We might think we have to “cure” anxiety or OCD for them to be well again. […]
Helping Anxious Kids Who Crumble Under Pressure Anxious kids crumble under pressure for a variety of reasons. They might worry about deadlines and school work. They might worry about the social pressures of being called on or being watched. They might fear being less than perfect or being worse than others. They might have difficulties making decisions, worried about picking the wrong choice. In this […]
Preparing Our Anxious Kids for an Uncertain School Year There is one thing for sure, next school year is completely uncertain. Will kids go back to school? Will they wear masks? Will school be online or in person? There are more questions than answers when we look ahead. So how do you help an anxious child who craves consistency and stability when reality is anything […]
How to Help Anxious Kids Help Themselves It is hard to watch our anxious kids suffer. It is hard to stomach their pain. It is very tempting to swoop in and protect them. To soften their fall. To protect them from feeling discomfort. But that is robbing them of the opportunity to build their skills. I find that the best way to help anxious kids […]
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.
Do you want to help a child with anxiety? Life offers them two doors. Behind door #1 is fear, avoidance and misery. Behind door #2 is fear, bravery and determination. What door does your anxious child pick? What door do you pick for them? As parents, it is hard to not be overly sympathetic to our children with anxiety. Watching them squirm and suffer through anxiety is not fun. It is understandable that for some of us, we want to help our kids avoid this suffering by avoiding the root cause of their misery. Unfortunately, if you want to help a child with anxiety – you need to do just the opposite.
Parenting anxious kids is like walking through a mine field. Explosions happen. You have to side step and walk around obstacles. You never know when the next crisis will be. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Anxious kids are also some of the most caring, empathetic children I know. I have to admit, they are my favorite little people. The anxious kids I […]
Parenting an anxious kid is like parenting a different species. Those of you who have anxious kids know what I mean. When you are in the trenches with an anxious kid – you better learn to laugh. Not sure you have an anxious kid? Here are some tell-tale signs! If my references are lost on you – do a happy dance – ignorance is bliss. If they […]
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