How to encourage your child with anxiety to be more adventurous:

You’re probably here because you want to know how you can encourage your child with anxiety to try new things and be more adventurous!

You should know that even though your child has fears and anxieties when it comes to being more adventurous or trying new things, it doesn’t mean they don’t want to try new things. They do! Anxiety is a fear of the future outcome. They can try and do new things, they just need your help. So your child isn’t doomed. But how can you get them there?

So here are the 5 steps to encourage your child with anxiety to try new things:

In this episode of the podcast we cover the 5 steps, give examples and teach you how you can handle the situation.

The struggles and journey to my own diagnosis of anxiety has helped me in helping my own child with her anxiety. She was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder last year at the age of 7.

1. Learn the Signs – in order to be able to help your child feel comfortable to try new things, you have to know when your child shows signs of anxiety. In our case, tummy aches, self defense, aggression, and crying. Learn about other signs in the episode.
2. Help your child feel more at ease – Avoid yelling and losing your patience. That only increases the anxiety. What makes your child feel at ease? For us, check pressure by hugging, as well as arms and hands massages or pressure squeezes.
3. Validate their feelings – we all feel all types of feeling including anxiety. You just feel anxiety for the bills and the number on your paycheck. It’s okay to feel anxious or afraid. We all feel that way at some point. They hear stories and they watch things on TV, their anxious comes from the fear of outcomes. In their mind, if it has happened to someone, it can happen to them.
4. Find the Root of the Anxiety – What unwanted thoughts are causing the anxiety? Maybe they are afraid of a park because they are afraid a dog will attack them. Maybe they are anxious about a birthday party because they are afraid their friends won’t like them for who they are and the choices they make.
5. Help them face their fears, in baby steps – Our immediate reaction is to protect our kids from their fears. It’s okay to be afraid but they have to at least try. As long as it’s not harmful to them or others. The exposure therapy method is helping a child face their fear by exposing them to what they are afraid of. Take it in baby steps and reward them for the steps that they take. Some times their reward is their own feeling of accomplishment.
6. More like 5 B – Give them a sense of control!!! Let them take baby steps on their own by letting them take control of how much they try. They do better with time when they know they are in charge of their own boundaries and limits.

Bonus Advice:

Make sure you don’t compare your child to others, and you never want to tell them how other kids younger or same age are doing more than they are. They are already comparing themselves.

Your child may have anxiety but it’s all about the future outcome. It doesn’t mean they don’t want to try, they just need some help from you, their comfort and their cheerleader.

The post 5 Steps to Encourage Your Child with Anxiety to Try New Things appeared first on RAISING ADVENTUROUS.