I have found that it is common that parents find it to difficult to know how to provide support to their anxious child outside of session. Concerns range from “are my attempts to support my child working?” or even “how/where do I begin to help my child when they are anxious?” The following article provides parents with specific tips and strategies on how to help their child cope with anxiety.
Practicing these coping strategies when a child is calm can be helpful in cultivating these skills so the child feels more confident to enable them in instances where they are feeling distressed. Given that modeling is a strong indicator of learning, a collaborative approach may not only make a child feel more confident to try a new coping skill, they may learn it quicker and more effectively. The old cliche of “practice makes perfect” is relevant even in therapy!
Calming Anxiety – Coping Skills for Kids
Inside: Kid tested strategies used by child therapists for calming anxiety, including ideas to calm down, books to read and videos that can help