Strategies That Build Life-Long Resilience in Anxious Children (Part 4 of 4)

Welcome to the final post in this series about childhood anxiety. In Understanding Anxiety in Children we defined anxiety and explained when it is helpful and when it can be problematic. 6 Strategies to Manage Childhood Anxiety outlined strategies to support the child in their goal of managing anxiety. In “The Special Role of Parents with Anxious Children” I discussed the special way that parents can positively impact their child’s anxiety, without requiring any action from the child.  In this post we will examine ways to build resilience so your child not only manages anxiety but can successfully cope with life’s uncertainties.

What does it mean to be resilient?

Resilience is generally defined as the ability to “bounce back” from adversity.  Often the person responds better than expected and appears to gain strength after the difficult experience. To do this requires adaptability, courage, and a belief in one’s ability to persevere. This is cultivated over time. Anxious children are at increased risk of developing poor self-concept, including doubt in their ability to cope.  Parents have the unique opportunity to foster qualities in their children to strengthen resilience.

Strategies to strengthen resilience over time.

1. Create a feeling of connection and belonging.

Children need consistent, supportive, caring relationships to internalize a positive sense of self.  These relationships facilitate a belief that they are valued and that their needs matter.  Children internalize a positive sense of self.  They develop the courage to take on challenges, knowing that they can return the “safe haven” of the relationship for support when needed. They feel confident in expressing their feelings because the feedback they receive is that their feelings are important, and someone is listening.  The beauty of this is that the relationship does not have to be perfect.  The sense of connection is strengthened when inevitable missteps or mis-attunements are addressed, and the relationship is repaired.

2. Encourage a sense of competence.

Children thrive when they are encouraged to make age-appropriate decisions.  Offer opportunities for your child to make choices, and honor those choices.  Even when setting a limit, it is possible to incorporate options for your child.  For example, “You may not have candy, however you may choose an apple or a banana”.  Engage in problem solving discussions.  Seek your child’s help in solving recurring issues.  This may be talking about the bedtime routine to reduce pushback, or a better way to organize schoolwork to reduce missing assignments.  These conversations increase your child’s confidence in themselves.

3. Celebrate effort, not just achievement.

It is exciting when your child achieves a goal.  We celebrate, for example, when the anxious child can join in and play with peers without being prompted.  However, what if they only take 1 step towards the group and then retreat?  That is a step towards the ultimate goal, and it must be acknowledged. Celebrating effort helps you and your child to focus on progress. It encourages persistence and reinforces the belief that growth is occurring.  When setbacks occur in the future, the child can draw on the past experience to find courage to keep trying.

4. Strengthen emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to understand one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.  It includes the capacity to regulate and communicate emotions and having empathy for others.  Someone with strong emotional intelligence takes responsibility for their own actions while maintaining a healthy self-concept.  Expand your child’s feelings vocabulary by verbalizing your own emotions.  When necessary, help them to name the feelings they are having.  Increase awareness by describing changes in facial expression and body language that is a clue to what they are feeling.  Model appropriate emotional regulation and help them to learn ways to regulate their own. 

5. Maintain a family lifestyle that supports resilience.

In 6 Strategies to Manage Childhood Anxiety, I talked about how sleep, nutrition, and physical activity help with emotional regulation, and therefore with the ability to manage anxiety. A 4th component is establishing strong, supportive relationships with extended family, peers, or others in the community.  This provides an additional layer of support that is often needed when coping with anxiety.  Normalize healthy habits so it becomes integral to the family.  Explain the benefits in an age-appropriate way and continue emphasizing this as your child develops. 

Parenting a child with anxiety can be challenging at times.  It requires patience, flexibility, and compassion.  By considering both the short-term (immediate) objectives, and the long-term goals for your child, you can equip them with the tools for life-long success.

The Special Role of Parents with Anxious Children (Part 3 of 4)

Throughout this series on childhood anxiety, I have discussed ways in which parents can support their child to successfully cope with anxiety.  In this post, I will delve deeper into the special role that parents play.  As mentioned in part 1, a parent’s instinct is to protect and comfort their child.  The child also instinctively looks to the parent for comfort and protection.  This works well unless you are dealing with an anxiety problem or disorder.

Why does the parent’s response matter?

Consider the toddler who stumbles and falls while learning to walk.  That toddler will look to a trusted adult to determine the severity of the incident.  If they are briefly comforted and encouraged to keep trying, they will do just that.  If, however, the adult expresses distress the child’s distress will also increase.  They may be hesitant to continue with this important developmental task.  A parent’s response to an anxious child has a similar effect.

The Temporary Solution

Anxiety often involves avoidance of the thing that increases discomfort. For example, a child may refuse to go to a room in the house unless accompanied by someone. Some children become upset if left to fall asleep on their own. Others may refuse to go to school due to increased stress. The discomfort experienced by the child may be expressed by whining, somatic complaints (stomach aches, headaches), or tantrums.  All of this is upsetting for a parent who wants to see their child calm and happy.  The parent may reassure, cajole, bargain, and/or make accommodations to reduce the distress.  These actions will temporarily soothe the child; however, they also serve to reinforce the anxiety.  Take the example of the child who refuses to go to another room unless accompanied by someone.  To calm the child, someone accommodates their request and goes with them.  What is reinforced is that there is a reason to be anxious and the solution is to have someone with them.  Each time an attempt is made to not accommodate the request, the child’s anxiety will increase, and the situation escalates.

What can parents do instead?

First, let’s look at the long-term goals. Children who feel competent in their ability to handle challenges are more successful in navigating the difficulties they encounter in life.  Therefore, our goal is to assist the child to acquire the necessary skills and to feel confident that they can endure the discomfort of anxiety.  The keys to doing this are:

1. Validate the child’s experience.

   Let them know that you see that they are having a hard time.  Empathize with them.

2. Demonstrate your confidence in their ability to handle the experience.

   This is done with both words and actions. 

These 2 parts are inseparable.  If one is done without the other, then the outcome is not the same.  Validating feelings, while continuing to accommodate, communicates to the child that you do not have confidence in their ability to cope. It maintains the dependence on others.  On the other hand, expressing confidence without acknowledging how the child feels sends the message that you “don’t get it” or that the child’s feelings are not important. 

Parents can impact their child’s anxiety by changing their own actions.

To demonstrate confidence in your child’s ability to handle anxiety, change the things that you do that communicates otherwise.  Develop a plan to reduce the accommodations that reinforce the anxiety.  The plan will be the actions you will or will not take, without requiring anything of the child. For example, “I will no longer go with you to the bathroom when we are at home”. 

Of course, this approach requires thoughtful consideration and planning for contingencies.  It must also consider the developmental needs of the child, the nature of the parent-child relationship, and other factors that may contribute to the success of the plan.  It is recommended that work with a trained professional to guide you through the process.  Click here for more information about this approach.

6 Strategies to Manage Childhood Anxiety (Part 2 of 4)

 Parenting an anxious child can be challenging

It may be a meltdown when you are trying to get out the door, or the seemingly endless questions about what to expect at an event, or the refusal to go to school.  In part 1 of this series, “Understanding Anxiety in Children”, I provided a brief overview of anxiety.  Understanding anxiety is the first step in being able to help your child cope.   In this post I will offer some practical suggestions about how parents can support an anxious child.  As mentioned previously, our goal is not to eliminate anxiety.  Instead, we want children to know they can be successful, despite feeling anxious.

1. Start with your own regulation.

Yes, parents need to start with the state of their own nervous system.  A stressed, dysregulated parent cannot effectively soothe a dysregulated child. As you may have experienced before, the more stressed you become the more the situation escalates. Note that being regulated does not necessarily mean being calm.  What it means is that you are aware of your own emotional state, and you are doing what you can to stay in control of your emotions.  This may mean taking deep breaths, repeating a mantra to yourself, or briefly walking away (if appropriate).  Verbalizing your own emotions can be helpful for you and for your child.  It normalizes expressing feelings and gives your “logical brain” a chance to reengage.  Practice self-compassion.

2. Validate feelings expressed.

Often children receive the message that the thing they are worried about is “not a big deal” or “there is no reason to be nervous”.  The problem is this does not typically help their anxiety.  Instead, they may experience shame, embarrassment, and do not feel safe expressing their feelings.  Validate the emotions expressed, whether or not you think it is justified.  Validation does not mean you agree.  It means you are acknowledging that the child is having a hard time.  It allows the child to feel seen and heard.  Saying something like… “I see this is hard for you” may be all your child needs to know that you understand.  If applicable, you may normalize the feeling with something like, “I would be nervous too.”

 3. Offer encouragement.

Knowing the best way to support an anxious child can be tricky.  There are things that we instinctively do, such as offer reassurance, that can reinforce the anxiety.  Anxiety seeks certainty. Offering reassurance may soothe the anxious child for the moment, however it increases the likelihood that they will continue to seek this reassurance.  Offer encouragement instead.  After validating (see above), communicate to the child your confidence that they can handle the emotion.  It may sound something like…” You got this!” or “I know you can handle this”.  Sometimes a reminder of previous success helps to boost confidence.

  4. Teach and model coping strategies.

Deep breathing, mindfulness practices, supportive mantras, and movement are some of the ways to manage anxiety.  For younger children, practice these strategies frequently, and in a playful manner, to make them more accessible when needed.  A regulated adult may still be needed to remind the child of the skill at the time anxiety is increasing.  Encourage your child to notice changes in their body (muscle tension, “butterflies in the stomach”, increased heart rate, racing thoughts).  This is their cue to start using a calming strategy.  It is very effective for a child to see a parent managing their own emotions using the skills taught. 

 5. Create an environment that supports emotional regulation.

Anxiety increases when there is unpredictability, inconsistency, and lack of control. Establishing daily routines, such as regular mealtimes and bedtime, helps to increase a child’s sense of security.  Offer age-appropriate choices so your child experiences control over some aspects of their life.   Children are better able to manage emotional difficulties when they have adequate sleep, proper nutrition, and opportunities to release energy through play or other physical activity.  Incorporate daily mindfulness practices that the family participates in.  It may be 1 minute of mindful eating at dinner, going on a mindful walk, or doing yoga poses.

 6. Seek Professional Support.

If your child's anxiety persists, or significantly impacts their daily life, consider seeking professional help. A mental health professional can identify the type of anxiety your child is experiencing and offer specialized, evidenced-based interventions that are developmentally appropriate.  

 Supporting an anxious child requires patience and understanding. It also requires attention to the state of the parent’s own emotional state.  The key to the effectiveness of any strategy is establishing a relationship with your child where they feel safe and supported. 

Understanding Anxiety in Children (Part 1 of 4)

Let’s begin with an important premise – anxiety serves a purpose.

Anxiety is a normal, and necessary, emotion that all humans experience.  As I discuss childhood anxiety in this 4-part series, it is important to understand that the goal is not to get rid of anxiety.  That is not possible, nor is it desirable.  Instead, we want children to know that they can successfully cope with anxious feelings. They can do what they need to do, despite feeling anxious.

What is anxiety?

The Oxford dictionary defines anxiety as: “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.”  The definition gives us a clue as to the purpose anxiety serves.  It is meant to keep us safe.  We try to anticipate potentially harmful, unsafe, or problematic situations so we can either avoid them or do something to mitigate a negative impact.

Of course, we know that anxiety can become a problem.  There are several factors that may contribute to anxiety being difficult to manage, and possibly overwhelming.  This includes biological makeup, life experiences, and environmental factors.  When anxiety is persistent, excessive, and impairs normal daily functioning, it is no longer serving the purpose that it was meant to. 

Some common signs that anxiety is problem:

• Constant worrying that is difficult to control.

• Feeling “on edge” most of the time.

• Avoiding situations or age-appropriate activities to try to reduce distress.

• Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.

• Physical symptoms such as stomachaches, headaches, or muscle tension.

• Mood changes including feeling more irritable or withdrawn.

• Difficulty concentrating.

 How is anxiety different in children?

 Anxiety may present differently in children based on developmental stage, the child’s history, and the response they receive from caregivers or other significant adults.

  Anxious children may experience one or more of the symptoms listed above.  In addition, they may:

• Appear defiant and controlling.

• Become easily angered or quickly escalate seemingly minor issues.

• Demand to know details about to expect and become upset when plans change.

• Constantly think about “worst case scenarios”.

• Have difficulty separating from parents (typically younger children).

• Excessively focused on appearance and judgement from others (typically adolescents and teens).

 It is important to consider the child’s development stage.

Some of these symptoms of anxiety are age appropriate.  For example, it is typical for a toddler to show distress when left with a babysitter for the first time. The expectation however is that, given a safe, supportive relationship, the distress will diminish over time. Pay attention to how these symptoms impact the child’s ability to function at school/day care, with peers, and with family members. Notice if your child is missing out on activities, that they want to participate in, due to feeling anxious.  Also note how easily the child is soothed or can self-regulate. 

 Parents play a special role in shaping the course of a child’s anxiety.

Parents naturally want to protect their children and help them feel safe.  Children instinctively look to their parents for support and protection.  It is difficult for us to see our child in distress and not immediately try to make it better.  The problem is, sometimes what we do to help relieve the child’s distress only makes anxiety worse.  More about this later in the series.

 What can parents do about childhood anxiety?

Understanding anxiety is the first step towards supporting your child.  Ideally, parents implement strategies to help their child cope with symptoms, while simultaneously helping the child build self-confidence. The key is communicating to the child that they can do the things they want to do, despite feeling anxious.   In the upcoming posts, we'll explore practical strategies, and discuss more about the role of parents in alleviating anxiety in their children.  

Contact me to learn more about how I can support you and your child in managing anxiety.