You may know someone dealing with anxiety, or you may have experienced your own bouts anxiety before. It’s never fun for anyone. It’s even more challenging for children. During a period of anxiety, the prefrontal cortex or the part of the brain responsible for reasoning is put on hold, and the more emotional part of the brain takes over. What this simply means is, it becomes harder for children or anyone to think clearly or perform simple tasks.

Many parents will want to immediately reassure an anxious child. However, this is rarely ever helpful. Here are some tips for helping your child with anxiety.

Check your Childs Environment

Are you raising your child in a peaceful, stable, and healthy environment devoid of toxicity? The home environment can profoundly affect a child’s mental health. If you’re bringing up your child in a dysfunctional home with lots of fighting and toxicity, it’s enough to stir anxiety in anyone, especially a child.

Make sure your home is safe and clutter-free. A cluttered home is a breeding ground for a cluttered mind, and this can cause distress and worry.

Let your Child Worry

This may sound shocking or counterproductive. Well, telling your child not to worry isn’t going to stop them from worrying. Letting your child worry in limited doses can be helpful. Here’s what you can and should do. Help your child start a daily ritual called ‘worry time’ that lasts for about 15mins.

Encourage your child to write down their worries. Let your child write everything and anything. When the time is up, you can burn the worries for the day.

Practice Self-Compassion

Many parents dealing with a child suffering from anxiety often wonder at one point if they are responsible. Research suggests anxiety is caused by several factors, such as genetics, environmental factors, past trauma, and temperament.

So, this is probably not on you. Relax! While it can be painful and confusing watching your child suffer from anxiety, keep in mind you didn’t make this happen, but you can help your child deal with it.

Find ways to get rid of the guilt, stop the self-criticism, and be yourself. You can only help your child when you are in control of your emotions.

Physical Exercise

A lot of people exercise to lose weight or stay fit but physical exercise can also do wonders for mental health, including a child’s.

Exercise can regulate a child’s mood. So make sure your child gets a chance to exercise daily. Now, it doesn’t have to be anything rigorous. Any sport or physical activity they enjoy will do. Dancing, riding a bike, playing football, or basketball are all great options.

Therapy

One of the most effective ways to handle anxiety is through therapy. If you can afford it, by all means, get a therapist for your child. You should also be involved in the therapy sessions as well since you’ll need to pay attention to your mental health during this time.

Staying on top of your mental and physical health, as well as your child’s, is crucial to living a well balanced and productive life. Click here to find out how you can fight anxiety without medication.