Danielle Morgan

If you’re a parent, it’s hard to watch your child struggle or suffer from anxiety or stress. If you’re not sure what kind of action or approach to take, the Youth Crisis Center says there are various ways to handle the situation by just talking with your child. It may not be able to make all the pain go away, but you could help your child by easing their worries or fears.

Identify that your child is struggling with stress or anxiety

Therapists at the Youth Crisis Center believe it’s essential to make sure you understand your child’s problem. This is an essential step because you may help your child if they are struggling with stress or anxiety differently than if they were getting bullied at school.

Support your child by acknowledging their fears

You probably dealt with a similar issue when you were a child. It is important not to dismiss your child’s fears if you were affected the same way or didn’t share those fears when you were a child. Supporting your child by acknowledging their fears helps them know that you are there for them and simply want to help them.

Seek professional help for your child

As a parent, you can try speaking with your child’s pediatrician, teacher, or school counselor. Therapists at the Youth Crisis Center believe these resources can help guide you in the right direction to getting resources to help your child ultimately.

Talk to your child

You can use this opportunity to offer viable solutions. YCC believes you can talk with your child about things like encouraging them to keep a journal or even cut back on after-school activities.

Use positive terms

When talking with your child, it is important to remember to use positive terms. Parents should use terms like “you are so brave” instead of just passing their child off as shy or anxious for the reasons of their behaviors.

Learn mindfulness

Therapists at the Youth Crisis Center say you can use this opportunity to make time for fun and quiet time. You and your child can also develop an exercise regimen of mindful activities that they will use when they are feeling anxious. Click here for mindfulness tips for children.

About SNAP® at the Youth Crisis Center

YCC offers a program called SNAP®, which stands for STOP NOW AND PLAN. This is an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral model powered by the minds at Child Development Institute (CDI). SNAP® can help children, ages 6-11, and their parents learn how to effectively manage their emotions and ‘keep problems small.’ We know that because small problems can quickly turn bigger or worsening problems if a child or their parent doesn’t have effective emotion regulation, self-control, or problem-solving skills.

Everybody deals with anxiety differently. According to Healthline, “anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress.”  Stress is a part of everyday life. Some people encounter it at one point whether it’s the first day of school, public speaking, or finally landing a job interview; stress happens and how people deal with it varies. However, while stress is a part of everyday life, it is not supposed to dictate your life. Experts at Healthline claim “if feelings of anxiety are extreme, last longer than six months, and interfering with your life, you may have an anxiety disorder.”

The CDC says children also have fears and worries. Regardless of how young they are, children sometimes find themselves feeling sad and hopeless every now and then.  It is a part of life and some of those feelings are normal for kids.  However, the CDC believes “persistent or extreme forms of fear and sadness could be due to anxiety or depression.”  

Your child and anxiety

Parents never want to see their child suffer or be in pain. You may feel that it is your duty as a parent to help your child work through what’s bothering them. It can be easier to figure out why your child is crying if you see them with a scraped knee or if they accidentally touched the stove while it was hot. It may not be as easy to figure out what’s going on mentally and causing your child stress or anxiety.

Experts at the Youth Crisis Center believe there are three different categories parents should pay attention to if they suspect their child may be struggling with stress or anxiety.

Thinking symptoms

Therapists at the Youth Crisis Center encourage you to really pay attention to what your child says about their thoughts. Some things to look out for is if your child often talks about their mind racing or the fact they find it hard to think straight. Therapists also recommend talking with your child’s instructors if they’re in school to see if your child’s concentration is not where it used to be or if they have difficulties with starting assignments.

Emotional symptoms

Parents should also monitor their child’s behavior and how they are reacting to things around them. You can use this opportunity to see if your child is coming off as withdrawn and if they tend to isolate themselves. You can also try talking to your kids, see if they’re having obsessive thoughts they can’t seem to shake or they are struggling with low self-esteem.

Physical symptoms

As mentioned earlier, physical symptoms are a bit easier to detect than the symptoms kids are dealing with mentally. YCC therapists claim that children undergoing stress and anxiety may have sore muscles. Children may also use the bathroom more frequently. YCC suggests to parents that they should pay attention to their children’s eating and sleeping habits. Hoarding food or having problems sleeping could also be indicators of stress for your child.

About SNAP® at the Youth Crisis Center

YCC offers a program called SNAP®, which stands for STOP NOW AND PLAN. This is an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral model powered by the minds at Child Development Institute (CDI). SNAP® can help children, ages 6-11, and their parents learn how to effectively manage their emotions and ‘keep problems small.’ We know that because small problems can quickly turn bigger or worsening problems if a child or their parent doesn’t have effective emotion regulation, self-control, or problem-solving skills. 

Mindfulness is a subject addressed often at the Youth Crisis Center. Experts at YCC believe that mindfulness is having awareness of our physical, mental, and emotional condition without assigning judgement on ourselves. YCC wants to remind everyone that practicing mindfulness doesn’t cost anything. You will be able to practice anywhere as long as you have the time and space for it. This includes youth. Therapist at YCC encourages parents to find opportunities to talk about mindfulness with their children and how they used it today.

Getting Youth Involved

Young people should absolutely consider practicing mindfulness. Research shows that practicing mindfulness has been shown to improve attention and reduce stress.  Practicing mindfulness could also improve your ability to regulate emotions and feel compassion along with empathy.  Therapists at the Youth Crisis Center believe that learning how to gain and utilize self-awareness is such a valuable skill that will stick with children for the remainder of their lives. They believe self-awareness and healthy coping could have a positive impact on your mood, self-esteem, social interactions, your relationship with others, and your quality of life.

Therapists recommend practicing mindfulness as a family. They suggest it could be a great way to connect with one another. It is advised to introduce exercises when things are calm and  your child is already in a good space. It is recommended you keep the time short, especially if your child is on the younger side. It’s best to let them set the pace and once they’re done…don’t push it.

For activities, you can start with a walk or breathing exercises with your child. Once you have completed that activity, you can shift your focus to the senses. You can talk about what you saw while on the walk, the sounds, and the smells.

Mindfulness as an Adult vs Youth

Children and adults face different challenges in today’s society, and therefore children and adults may practice mindfulness in varying ways and for varying reasons. An adult may use mindfulness techniques to help them be a better leader, to help them feel better about themselves and learn gratitude, or to help them be a more effective/empathetic/well rounded person in general. Youth could use mindfulness to help alleviate behavioral and emotion regulation problems in the classroom, or to assist in coping with depression or anxiety.

Mindfulness is a subject addressed often at the Youth Crisis Center. Experts at YCC believe that mindfulness is having awareness of our physical, mental, and emotional condition without assigning judgement on ourselves. YCC wants to remind everyone that practicing mindfulness doesn’t cost anything. You will be able to practice anywhere as long as you have the time and space for it. This includes youth. Therapist at YCC encourages parents to find opportunities to talk about mindfulness with their children and how they used it today.

Getting Youth Involved

Young people should absolutely consider practicing mindfulness. Research shows that practicing mindfulness has been shown to improve attention and reduce stress.  Practicing mindfulness could also improve your ability to regulate emotions and feel compassion along with empathy.  Therapists at the Youth Crisis Center believe that learning how to gain and utilize self-awareness is such a valuable skill that will stick with children for the remainder of their lives. They believe self-awareness and healthy coping could have a positive impact on your mood, self-esteem, social interactions, your relationship with others, and your quality of life.

Therapists recommend practicing mindfulness as a family. They suggest it could be a great way to connect with one another. It is advised to introduce exercises when things are calm and your child is already in a good space. It is recommended you keep the time short, especially if your child is on the younger side. It’s best to let them set the pace and once they’re done…don’t push it.

For activities, you can start with a walk or breathing exercises with your child. Once you have completed that activity, you can shift your focus to the senses. You can talk about what you saw while on the walk, the sounds, and the smells.

Mindfulness as an Adult vs Youth

Children and adults face different challenges in today’s society, and therefore children and adults may practice mindfulness in varying ways and for varying reasons. An adult may use mindfulness techniques to help them be a better leader, to help them feel better about themselves and learn gratitude, or to help them be a more effective/empathetic/well rounded person in general. Youth could use mindfulness to help alleviate behavioral and emotion regulation problems in the classroom, or to assist in coping with depression or anxiety.

About SNAP® at the Youth Crisis Center

YCC offers a program called SNAP®, which stands for STOP NOW AND PLAN. This is an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral model powered by the minds at Child Development Institute (CDI). SNAP® can help children, ages 6-11, and their parents learn how to effectively manage their emotions and ‘keep problems small.’ We know that because small problems can quickly turn bigger or worsening problems if a child or their parent doesn’t have effective emotion regulation, self-control or problem-solving skills.