Here are some simple tips that you can try at home to help your child manage anxiety, summarized by psychotherapist and anxiety specialist, Anna Jackson.

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Transcription

"How to help your child manage anxiety. A couple of tips that kids can do at home to manage anxiety.

The first one is something that I actually do every day is called earth grounding. Now, what you do, super easy. Take your shoes and socks off and go and walk or run or do cartwheels in the grass, on a field, any field. So what that does is it really connects you to the ground and it's the electrolytes in the earth's core that help to neutralize us. And we instantly feel better. There's been so many studies around this that show that this helps to reduce anxiety. I would say 10 to 15 minutes every single day.

The second one would be authentic friends that they feel safe with. Spending more time with them. What that's going to do is going to release that feeling of safety. Now, early human, early man, when we spent time in the tribe, we would feel that we were safer because guess what? We were safer. There was less chance that we would get eaten by lions, tigers, wolves, whatever. That has stayed with us. 21st century, most of the time we are not unsafe, but spending time with people that we love, that we have authentic connections with, that we feel like we can be our genuine selves with. Now that's important. We need to be loved for who we genuinely are. Releases feel good hormones, serotonin and dopamine. So encouraging them to spend time with their friends that they really connect with. Not those friends who many kids have where they feel like they have to put on an act or be a certain way. Now that's going to go the opposite.

And just even being sure as a parent that you really genuinely are loving them for who they are. Because who they are is enough. Who they are right now, that's the person, that's the kid that you love and that's the kid that is absolutely 100% enough."

And ask them if there's any way that you can help, what you can do to support them. And also if they'd be open to going to see a psychotherapist. It could be something that you guys do together. It could actually be quite a good opportunity to bond with them as well if they feel heard by you. Or it might be something that they want to go and do on their own.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, CBT, which is a short term therapy, can be wonderful for children because it's really goal orientated and it gives them practical steps that they can do on a week by week basis to really help them. And it's not something that they're going to have to go to for a year or whatever. It's something that they can really do in about 6 to 12 sessions. So it's short, it's manageable and it gives them actionable steps that they can put into practice."

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