Dealing with a child with anxiety was never something I thought I would do.

Dealing with a child with anxiety was never something I thought I would do.
I was surprised to learn that anxiety symptoms are common in children and adolescents, with 10-20% of school-aged children experiencing anxiety symptoms.
An even larger number of children experience stress that does not qualify as an anxiety disorder. So how can you help to reduce your child's anxiety and stress?
Encourage your child to face his/her fears, not run away from them:
When we are afraid of situations we avoid them. However, avoidance of anxiety-provoking situations maintains the anxiety. Instead, if a child faces his or her fears, the child will learn that the anxiety reduces naturally on its own over time. The body cannot remain anxious for a very long period of time so there is a system in the body that calms the body down. Usually your anxiety will reduce within 20-45 minutes if you stay in the anxiety-provoking situation.
Practice self-care, and positive thinking
Your child (for the most part) will do what you do. So if you avoid anxiety-provoking situations, so will your child. If you face your fears, so will your child. If you take care of yourself and schedule time for your own needs, your child will learn that self-care is an important part of life. If you look for the positive in situations, so will your child. Children learn behaviours from watching their parents.
Focus on the positives
Anxious and stressed children can easily get lost in negative thoughts and self-criticism. They may focus on how the glass is half empty instead of half-full and worry about future events and bouts of anxiety. The more you focus on your child's positive attributes and the good aspects of a situation, the more that it will remind your child to focus on the positives instead of the negatives. Hopefully this in turn will train your child’s brain to think this way naturally.  
Encourage your child to express his/her anxiety
If your child says that he or she is worried or scared, don't say "No you're not!" or "You're fine."  That doesn't help your child.  Instead, it is likely to make your child believe that you do not listen or do not understand him/her.  Instead, validate your child's experience by saying things like "Yes, you seem scared. What are you worried about?"  Then have a conversation about your child's emotions and fears.
Reward your child's brave behaviours
If your child faces their fears, reward this with praise, a hug, or even something like a sticker or a small treat. Establish this as a motivator before your child is in the situation and it will not be seen as bribery. If you reward behaviours your child will engage in them more often.
Encourage good sleep hygiene
This is a hugely important step in our house. Set a bed time for your child and stick to that bed time even on weekends. Also have a 30-45 minute bed time routine that is done every night. This helps your child to transition from the activities of the day to the relaxed state necessary to fall asleep.
Schedule some one on one time with your child
Children need time to relax and just be kids. Unfortunately, sometimes even fun activities, like sports, can become more about success than they are about fun.  Instead, it is important to ensure that your child engages in play purely for the sake of fun. This may include scheduling time each day for your child to play with toys, play a game, play a sport (without it being competitive), doing yoga, paint, have a tea party, put on a play, or just be silly.
Written by Laura Doyle: Laura blogs over at Love, Life and Little Ones. She's a 29-year-old mum of three and part time beauty therapist! She's 4 kids and loves writing about all things parenting, beauty and lifestyle related.
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