Chaplains Corner
Following on in my tips to help your child with anxiety is the strategy to "Be a thought detective"........maybe lose the pipe!
The mind is so important for children and us adults too! Being aware of our thoughts, analysing them and changing them if needs be will revolutionalise our lives.
4. Teach your child to be a thought detective
Remember, worry is the brain’s way of protecting us from danger. To make sure we’re really paying attention, the mind often exaggerates the object of the worry (e.g. mistaking a stick for a snake).
You may have heard that teaching your children to think more positively could calm their worries. But the best remedy for distorted thinking is not positive thinking; it’s accurate thinking. Try a method we call the 3Cs:
• Catch your thoughts: Imagine every thought you have floats above your head in a bubble (like what you see in comic strips). Now, catch one of the worried thoughts like “No one at school likes me”.
• Collect evidence: Next, collect evidence to support or negate this thought. Teach your child not to make judgments about what to worry about based only on feelings. Feelings are not facts. (Supporting evidence: “I had a hard time finding someone to sit with at lunch yesterday”. Negating evidence: “Sherry and I do homework together – she’s a friend of mine".)
• Challenge your thoughts: The best (and most entertaining) way to do this is to teach your children to have a debate within themselves.
Kind regards
Katharine Goschnick
Somerville Primary School Chaplain
Ph 5977 5421