Wellbeing & Culture

Some helpful tips for helping your children to manage anxious feelings could be: 

• Reassurance that feeling anxious is normal - let your child know that it is normal to have fears and worries from time to time. 
• Give emotional support through reflective listening - children need at least one person in their life that truly understands how they are feeling, emotional support starts with listening. 
• Encourage your child to share feelings and worries - regular chats can help lift the heaviness of worries. 
• Help to problem solve using - help your child make a plan of what they could do to solve their problem. 
• Help your child to recognise anxious thoughts - teach that some thoughts are helpful and some are not, remind them of the importance of positive self-talk. 
• Encourage healthy risk taking - even though the child might be worried, they can so try something difficult or new building confidence within themselves. 
• Encourage independence. 
• Teach relaxation and calming strategies - learning how to do this yourself helps with modelling behaviours. 
• Practice mindfulness exercises every day - have a go at the link meditation practice. 

Hayley, Kelly and Jordan