Anxiety is undoubtedly one of the problems many of us face daily. It causes stress, prevents us from concentrating, or allows us to find peace. In children, it can be even more damaging. Many well-intentioned parents try to protect their anxious children from their fears; however, overprotecting them can make the situation worse.
In anxiety disorders they interact biological factors, personal factors and environmental factors. Among the environmental factors are life events or traumatic situations, the educational style of the parents, and, in general, the socialization processes that we all have throughout our lives: family, school, friends, etc. Among the personal factors that are involved in the genesis and maintenance of anxiety disorders are: personal and subjective assessment that each person makes of themselves (self-esteem) and the traits of our personality.
Below we offer some tips to help your children manage their anxiety without reinforcing it. When children show the first signs of anxiety, we often think it will pass; She may just be a nervous or shy child, but she will grow up and it will probably pass.But when anxiety becomes so recurrent and intense that it's seriously interfering with a child's life, and the life of their family, it's absolutely important and necessary to seek professional help.
Some tips and recommendations that we should follow are the following:
- Create a routine that helps your child have periods of relaxation: Children are often tied to routines filled with chores and obligations, so you need to help them find activities where they can stay calm and relax.
- Give importance to what they express: As adults, we often believe that children's problems are unimportant or of little importance. As children, many of them generate great concerns that need to be addressed. It's important to make them realize that we are there to listen and help them.
- Find out what's stressing him out: Many factors can cause anxiety, and sometimes we aren't able to identify the root of the problem on our own. It's important to know what the main cause of anxiety symptoms is.
- Motivate your self-esteem: When he feels down or frustrated, try reminding him of past situations where he achieved success or overcame obstacles, so that they can be an important source of motivation when facing new goals. You can also remind him and point out the resources that were helpful at that time so he can use them when facing any new situation that may arise.
- Provide an environment of love, security and trust: When taking on new experiences, it's essential that our children feel supported by us and that we instill enough confidence to feel capable of achieving anything. We must be careful with our words; we never know which ones might hurt them.
- Teach him to face his fears: The idea of directly exposing yourself to the feared object or situation may be quite complex for them, but before doing so, small approaches can be made, which should be reinforced since they will become small successes that will gradually help them overcome that fear.