Kiddipedia
Unfortunately, anxiety in children is a common issue. According to anxiety statistics, 3.8% of the global population had anxiety disorders in 2017. It’s normal that children have fears while growing up. Infants and toddlers are afraid of loud noises, and children aged 7–12 fear burglars or wars. However, sometimes the child doesn’t have a coping mechanism, so the situation gets too scary and causes extreme distress.
What Causes Anxiety in Children
Children are sensitive; their young minds are still in development, so any change may be stressful. Various events can cause anxiety in children, such as loss of a pet or a loved one, serious illness, or abuse.
There’s also the question of genetics. Children that come from families where someone had anxiety disorder are likely to have it too. Also, there’s brain chemistry, which affects all humans in numerous ways, and if it’s unbalanced, it can cause anxiety in children.
Moreover, learned behavior is also one of the reasons why a child is anxious. If there’s someone in the family who’s being fearful or anxious, the child can easily pick up the behavior and reflect it.
Other causes of anxiety include:
- Frequent moving or changing schools
- Severe injury or an accident
- School-related homework, exams, bullying
- ADHD or autism
Symptoms of Anxiety in Kids
Even though anxiety is common in kids, especially when faced with new experiences and environments, such as starting school, most of them deal with it pretty well. Still, some don’t have functional coping mechanisms, which may result in anxiety. Some of the symptoms may include:
- Lack of concentration
- Worry
- Negativity
- Poor sleep
- Poor diet
- Anger
- Frequent toilet use
- Fidgeting
- Crying
- Fear of the dark
- Clinginess
- Tummy aches
What Can Parents Do?
Parents need to be aware that leaving a child to cope with anxiety on its own is not the best solution. Sometimes, kids may develop coping techniques on their own, but that’s often not the case.
It’s up to the parent to teach their child how to deal with anxiety by teaching them how to breathe appropriately, reframe thoughts, and get help from an adult. Parents should also help their child reset—have healthy meals, the right amount of sleep, and outdoor activities daily.
If the child still can’t deal with the symptoms of anxiety, parents must seek professional help. In most cases, anxiety will be treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), where parents and kids will learn about thoughts and how they affect them. Parents will find out how to best respond to their anxious child, and children will learn that their fears are less scary when they face them.
Summary
Some minor worry and fear are normal for kids. They’ve just started exploring the world and what they can and cannot do. But when the situation becomes too serious or the child can’t deal with change, anxiety may develop.
There are a lot of reasons for anxiety in children, that include genetics, abuse, illness, and in some cases, learned behavior. Parents must keep their eyes open and notice the anxiety symptoms in their children while also working on solving the problems. They should teach their kids how to deal with the issues, but parents must seek professional advice if the situation gets too complicated.
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