How Caregives Can Help Their Anxious Child

Does your school age child suffer from anxiety? Here are some practical tips for caregivers and parents.

Seek help. When a school age child is experiencing severe anxiety or fright symptoms, an appointment with the pediatrician is in order right away. The physician can rule out whether there is a physical cause for the frightening feelings and work to treat it. Also, he or she may be able to refer you to a specialist for child anxiety.

Inform the school. A confidential sit down with the principal, the teacher, and the school nurse can be beneficial. Most primary schools today have encountered children with a wide range of emotional issues and school phobia is one of them. Together you can come up with a plan of action to make sure your child feels comfortable while at school.

Find a helpful book as a resource. There are some very good books written on the subject of anxiety and children. You can search for books on Amazon.com and read reviews of what other parents have written to help decide if a particular book is right for your child's unique situation. You may even find useful books right at the local library.

Speak to other parents and caregivers. It can be helpful to be able to share advice and tips with other parents who are going through the same thing. Reaching out to others is also a wonderful way to know you're not alone in your suffering. You may find other families of children struggling with anxiety at online forums.

Listen to your child but do not condone the anxious behavior. For instance, if your child has anxiety about going to school in the morning, it can be tempting to give in to his or her fears. After all she may cling to you, cry, throw a temper tantrum or complain of a belly ache. Make getting on the bus a priority, and work with the school to make it a smooth and uneventful transition for your child.

You can ask for the help of the bus driver in the morning to help get your child safely and smoothly on the bus. If necessary, you can have someone from the school help escort your child to class. As well, make sure your child learns that her teacher is a "safe person," one who she can go to at once if she feels anxious during the day.

You can help your anxious child. For more information on Panic attacks in children, please see http://curepanicattacksinchildren.com.