Helping Your Child Understand Anxiety

• Your child needs to learn how to handle anxiety when you are not around. You can start this by practicing it at home.
• Talk to your child about anxiety and worry when he/she is calm, but be careful not to lecture
• Tell your child that you are going to help him/her learn to realize when he/she is anxious
• When you notice that your child is anxious at home:
• Have your young child draw pictures of different emotions, including fear
• For older children who worry, help them talk their way through the worry
• Read books with your children about characters who are worried about things
• Discuss the following questions with your child until he can do this on his own.
• What am I worried about?
• What is the worst that can happen? What is the best that can happen?
• How likely is the worst to happen? What is most likely to happen?
• What can I do if the worst happens?
• Will worrying prevent the worst from happening?