Anxiety in our young’uns

OPINION

BY CHRISTINA ARBAN (AKA Momma C)

Do you have anxiety? Does your child or someone you know? Maybe they do, and you just aren’t aware.

I feel we all have anxiety on some sort of level. Anxiety is defined as an emotion that is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and causes feelings of dread over anticipated events.

Anxiety isn’t always an obvious thing to others around us. It can be caused by many things, especially with our little ones. It could be the worry of new faces, new places, certain events, joining sports teams, group activities, the weather, even something as simple as trying a new food. All these things and many more can get us worked up inside. We may or may not be aware of them or how to cope with them.

Helping children learn to deal with things and work through them is so very important, both while they are young and all the way through life. Recognizing there are factors that wear on us can be hard sometimes. Here are a few steps to help us help them.

Identifying the issue: A child may not be able to pinpoint what triggered their feelings before they escalated. There are over fifty emotions one may feel. Ideally, we want the majority of our day to remain in the calm and happy stage. Having a peaceful mindset is definitely very important and much better for a productive and functional life. Once the worry has been identified, we can work through it and hopefully resolve matters.

Here are some techniques we can teach children: slow, deep breathing and counting are some good ideas to start with. If the child can use their words and express how they feel, this is a plus. If they don’t want to talk about things at that time, maybe they just need a quiet moment, a song, a different environment, a distraction, maybe just some reassuring, encouraging words.

Sometimes we can make adjustments on the outside to help with the inside. But sometimes there are situations or obstacles that we just have to learn to deal with. Our good example can help children overcome and cope with many factors.

Sometimes little adjustments can make big differences. Some factors may be better nutrition, a good night’s rest, or just someone to listen. Let’s work together to encourage our kids that they are strong, brave, and loved and can overcome obstacles. Learning to cope with things (things we can and cannot control) is all part of life and maturing along the journey. We never know what someone is going through on the inside, so let’s just be kind (to everyone) and help our kids grow, one step at a time.