How to Help an Anxious Child

Do you ever feel like you’re tiptoeing around your child—careful with every word, changing plans to avoid a meltdown?

You’re not alone! I hear parents say it all the time: “I feel like I’m walking on eggshells.” It’s an exhausting way to live. You just want to keep the peace, but somehow the anxiety in your house only seems to grow.

• Have you had to cancel a playdate?
• Do you ever feel like you have to keep routines rigid?
• Do you find yourself answering the same reassurance-seeking question again and again?

Those are signs your child may have anxiety underlying their behavior.

Here’s the tricky truth: avoiding conflict feels like the right thing to do, but over time, it teaches your child’s anxiety that it’s in charge. When parents bend to every worry——the anxiety learns that the only way to feel safe is to control everyone else.

That’s why, in my latest episode of The Pediatrician Next Door, I talked with pediatrician Dr. Natasha Burgert, author of Managing Childhood Anxiety for Dummies, about how to break the cycle. Her advice is simple but powerful: stop protecting the anxiety, and start helping your child face it—gently, and with support. But, how?

• Instead of rearranging life to avoid discomfort, coach your child through it. Let them see that they can handle change and survive a little uneasiness.
• Stay calm (even when you’re not feeling it) so they can borrow your calm.
• Make sure the basics are covered—especially sleep. Lack of rest supercharges the brain’s alarm system and makes every stress feel bigger.

The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety—it’s to teach kids that they can feel anxious and still be okay.

So if you’ve been walking on eggshells, take heart. You can step off carefully and start building a home where everyone learns to walk on solid ground again.

Listen to the full episode, linked below