100% of people feel anxiety.
When I was a child, in second grade, I stopped riding the bus home from school.
My parents had four kids, my dad worked from home. And I constantly had a “tummy ache” and would go to the nurse just before the school day ended. So my mom or dad would have to come pick me up.
Was I really so sick all the time??? No. I was anxious.
And it was frustrating for my parents. While they loved me and continued to pick me up and care for me… it was frustrating that time and time again I was getting out of my arranged ride home.
One time our car was broken… and my dad had to walk 3 miles roundtrip with a cold to pick me up because my mom was at the doctor with another child. (oops)
Now as a parent, I can relate to the frustration. It’s frustrating as parents because
… we want our kids to be happy
… we want our kids to be ok separating from us and have a healthy enough attachment that it doesn’t feel like torture when we leave
… we have our own needs that need to be met
You get it the list goes on and on.
When anxiety stops us from living the life we want to live.
…Or stops kids from being able to separate from parents
…Or stops kids from going to school or making friends
Then some intervention and support is needed to manage this big feeling
Like any big feeling, we know those big behaviors are usually nearby.
Anxiety may look like shutting down or refusing to participate. It also could look like anger and aggression. It can look like really emotional tantrums, or just withdrawing quietly. So many behaviors with the same underlying feeling: anxiety.
Learn your child's patterns of anxiety, what is happening in their body, and how to support them through these uncomfortable feelings.
Help Children Face their Anxieties
Typically kids who have anxiety avoid the thing they are anxious about. When we let them avoid it, it actually reinforces it, and then the anxiety goes up. This unknowingly strengthens the avoidance response
Learn the role our body plays in anxiety
When we can understand what's going on inside the body during anxious moments, we can better know how to handle someone when they are feeling this way. And we can learn tools to regulate our bodies (instead of just changing our thoughts).
Learn Strategies to Support Your Child
When anxiety inevitably shows up, be confident in supporting your child through it. Often we teeter on the edge of forcing them to do something or avoiding it together at the hands of anxiety. What if there was a third option? Supporting them through it and learning together.
What a mama just like you has to say…
“I totally tried just giving her physical support this morning, even though I totally did not want to be near her I the moment and SHE CALMED DOWN. Normally I get upset, she continues and 30 mins later we are all on an emotional roller coaster of rage. Holy cow, co-regulation works”
Ready to join? Now you get to make a choice
Join Anxiety Course for $67 and have lifetime access today.