Wellbeing

Supporting Children with Anxiety.

There is a lot of research on how to support children with their anxiety. I really value the contributions of Georgina Manning, the founder of Peaceful Kids, on this topic. 

Georgina talks about "helping parents to understand that accommodating their child’s anxiety can also enable it." Georgina acknowledges that there is nothing worse than seeing our children in distress however there are ways to support them through their distress.

Georgina shares that if we intervene when our children are anxious about something there is a risk that they will believe that the 'thing' is actually something to be scared about. It takes the child's power away to be able to face their worry. Georgina identifies recognising and naming the emotions a child feels but not stepping in to fix it. 

To read the full article please go to https://www.peacefulkids.com.au/blog-page/new-approach-to-childrens-anxiety-treats-parents-instead-of-children 

Something for us to reflect on as we support our children with their anxiety or worries is identifying the emotions "I can see that you are worried about this", "I hear you when you say you don't want to" but then we need to follow it with affirming statements like "We can put a plan in place to help you", "You will be looked after by ___, who will...." 

Together we can support our children to gain the confidence in themselves to know they can do things that feel hard.  

Rikki Winduss

Wellbeing Leader