5 Easy Ways to Help Your Anxious Child (and Your Anxious Self)
Worry and anxiety can eat away at kids’ comfort and confidence, especially at stressful transition times like going back to school or to summer camp. Here are 5 helpful tips to ease the mind of an anxious child
Childhood is full of little worries, like who you’ll sit next to at lunch, passing this week’s spelling test, or walking past that scary barking dog at the end of the block.
But sometimes kids’ worries grow bigger than your teen’s Instagram audience, faster than your tween in a growth spurt, or are more numerous than fidget spinners in the lunchroom.
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It’s painful to see your kid suffering from anxiety and it’s heartbreaking to watch them do things that set them apart from their peers, like clinging to you at soccer practice, crying at birthday parties, or refusing to participate in school to the point that their grades suffer. It can also be exasperating to hear them worry about things that seem irrational or to worry about the same things over and over again. Luckily, you can help.
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