Our children may have difficulty regulating their emotions and managing certain conditions because they have fewer resources than adults to do so, so it is essential to know what we can do to reduce children’s anxiety.
First, it’s important to evaluate whether the child actually suffers from anxiety before taking the next step. This emotion is complex and has multiple causes, which can frustrate children, as they have not matured enough to control it.
- The causes of anxiety in children are varied.
- We are talking about various factors such as responsibilities.
- Interpersonal or family relationships.
- One of the first signs of anxiety in children can appear with the separation of parents.
When children start leaving home, either to spend time with their grandparents or to start school, they may be stressed by separation, in these situations what begins as a superficial tension can become a very intense anxiety, while nothing diminishes the feeling of threat that the child feels when separated from the people with which he or she feels protected.
This emotion can also be caused by contact with strangers, which is directly related to the previous one, the important thing is to identify a real episode of anxiety, as all children suffer stress from separation and contact with strangers, and this does not mean that they actually suffer from a generalized anxiety disorder (TAG).
Other, more serious causes may include abuse, a violent or dysfunctional family environment, or something less traumatic but just as serious for the child: a change, the death of a loved one, or the separation of parents, all of which can lead to anxiety. who are not able to control.
First, as has already been said, it is essential to discern between a superficial tension and a real image of distress, since mis-representation of what is happening can deprive the child of the help he needs or a challenge that can be of great help to his growth. The first step is to identify the problem and its cause, paying attention to how the child expresses his emotions.
If we face a specific episode, the most important thing is to try to chat with the child, because although sometimes it doesn’t seem to be the case, children generally have a greater reasoning capacity than we attribute to them.
Talking to them about the cause of this feeling can give us useful answers, so collaboratively it is possible to come up with a solution, in addition, we will make a positive reinforcement for reflection and reasoning.
The solution to the problem can be achieved using different strategies.
In short, here are the steps we can take to identify anxiety in children:
Anxiety is an emotion that arises from a threat, whether past, present or anticipated, so children, being so young and unstable, may feel anxious about many facts, real or imaginary. it is we adults who have a responsibility to teach them to work positively with the emotional state that arises precisely from the perception of these threats.