5 things to say when your child is suffering from anxiety.

It can be upsetting when your child is struggling. You want to make it better for them, but you might not know what to say and worry that you’ll somehow make it worse. It can be hard to know how to help a child with anxiety.

There’s no magic wand for these kinds of things. However, there are things you can say to your child that will help them in the right direction..

Here are five things you can say to your child if you think they’re struggling with anxiety.

I’m here for you
When your child is feeling anxious, it’s easy to think that dismissing their fears will make the situation go away. However, by telling them you are there for them, and that you understand, will help them feel safe, and help them to deal with it better.

Tell me how you are feeling
Give your child the chance to tell you how they are feeling and why – things often feel a lot scarier inside our heads, letting them voice their fears will help to make them feel smaller.

It’s ok to feel scared
It’s important to normalise how your child feels because we all feel anxious at times. Knowing that its natural to feel this way, and others feel the same, can make the situation feel less overwhelming.

You can do hard things
Encourage your child to think about a time they’ve felt nervous about something before, but still managed to do anyway. Remembering how proud they felt afterwards will help them to feel brave enough to face their fears.

What helped last time?
Helping your child to remember what strategies that have worked when they’ve felt anxious in the past, will help them to learn how to manage their anxiety and stressful situations in the future.

Remember, experiencing anxiety occasionally is natural, and knowing how to handle it can make a big difference. However, if it becomes more frequent or starts to affect your day-to-day life, it might be time to speak to a professional. Click here to get in touch.