Child Anxiety Related News and Articles

Anxiety Meltdown: 8 Things You Can Do While It Is Happening

We all have those moments where our kids come unglued. I don’t know about you but it would sometimes unglue me. Anxiety is often the reason for the meltdowns. Anxiety meltdowns are often a result of panic attacks, social and separation anxiety, and frankly, most kinds of anxiety. Here are some ideas that might help you avoid any regretful parenting moments and reduce future episodes. 1. Stay calm. All us parents know that a meltdown gets on our last nerve (as we say here in the Southern United States). We are upset, anxious and incredibly frustrated because we cannot get control of our [...]

If Your Child Has OCD or Tics, You Must Read This

PANDAS: Not the cute bear I just listened to a presentation by the Executive Director of the Pandas Network and a Physician about PANDAS/PANS. This is an autoimmune response to strep, other viruses and even parasites. It causes psychiatric problems in children. PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Bacteria. The virus mimics molecules that cross the barrier to the brain resulting in sudden and often very dramatic psychiatric and neurological symptoms as the body’s immune system attacks healthy brain tissue. If your child has OCD [...]

Managing Separation Anxiety: What it is, and how to help your child work through it

The start of a new school year or a new semester following a winter break can cause a child to feel anxious. In fact, your child could experience what is known as separation anxiety, which is a condition that causes a child or adolescent extreme distress when he is separated from his parents or caregivers. Separation anxiety is more common following a summer break, or in January after a holiday vacation, but it can be experienced at any time. Characteristics of Separation Anxiety What might separation anxiety look like for you child? It’s much more than just refusing to go to school. Every [...]

Your Child, Anxiety, School Refusal and the Desire to Curl in a Fetal Position

If you are taking the time to read this post you are probably not having a minor problem with your child being anxious about school. There is a good chance you are having a 5-star wild-horses-can’t-drag-your-child-to-school problem. Anxiety is bad enough but when you throw in school you have an agonizing crisis. If your child is either not going or fighting (as in emotional maelstrom) going to school this is called school refusal. Sometimes you will see it described as a school phobia. I prefer school refusal because the anxiety that causes the resistance may not be a "phobia" of school but [...]

Managing Anxious Children During The Holidays

The holiday season can be a joyous and enjoyable time for you and your family, but it can also be an extremely busy one, commonly adding extra holiday stress and anxiety to children during school vacations. During this time of year, there are lots of fun and meaningful activities going on, both at home and at school. While that can be a positive thing for kids, enriching their lives with much-loved traditions and rituals, the reality is that sometimes in all the hustle and bustle, their schedules and routines are disrupted, bedtimes are pushed back, and social skills are put to the test. So [...]

Pre-Teens & Teens Spent HOURS on Media Everyday! A MUST read post for parents!

A new study just published shows that pre-teens (8-12 years old) spend 4.5 hours per day on laptops, smartphones and tablets, while teens spend 6.5 on the same devices. This does NOT include time spent on screens at school or for homework. Add in TV time and/or X-Box and the average American pre-teen spends 6 hours on media, teens 9 hours! That's mind boggling! Another study showed that by age 7 children will have been in front of a screen of some sort for a total of 1 full year, 24/365! 53% of pre-teens have the own tablet and 67% of teens have their own smartphone. Mobile devices account [...]

Sleep and its Affects on Anxiety

Now that school is back in full swing, hopefully, your child has been able to settle into some sort of standard routine. With any luck, a good night’s sleep has become part of that schedule. The amount of sleep your kids get matters, especially when they are stressed. A new study in Psychoneuroendocrinology suggests that poor sleep might explain how stress impacts health in kids. Sleep Vs Fight or Flight Getting a good night’s sleep might cushion the impact of stress on kids’ cortisol level, which is a hormone produced in the adrenal gland to regulate the body’s cardiovascular, metabolic and [...]

Living with an OCD Child: The danger of accommodation

Kids with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) face intense worries and fears that are difficult to manage, and oftentimes accompanied by repetitive rituals that are tough to control. Unlike ordinary concerns or habits, these obsessions (thoughts) and compulsions (behaviors) may consume significant amounts of time, impair their daily functioning, and cause substantial distress. OCD affects approximately one to three percent of children and adolescents. OCD and the Family Symptoms of OCD at home can be more extensive than at school, causing a stressful environment for the whole family, where [...]

Anxiety and My Old Address: Why Change is Not Forgetting but Learning

I have a business and home address that I have to write or say all the time. Like you, I have them completely memorized and they are available to my memory without hesitation. Once you learn something it can be pretty hard to forget. Some Things You Don't Forget Anxiety is like that. Whatever you are worrying about you effectively memorize. Because your thoughts are charged with fear, they are even more memorable. Here is the bad news. You cannot unlearn that. Here is the good news. You can learn something new that can change how you react and even feel. Except When You Get Old I know that [...]

The Rise of Anxiety in Teens: How Did We Get Here?

Research indicates that the rates of anxiety and depression among teens in America have been rising over the past fifty to seventy years. In fact, some assessments reveal a startling five to eight times as many high school and college students who meet the criteria for major depression and/or an anxiety disorder diagnosis, as was met half a century ago. 80 Years Later A 2009 study that used self-reports from commonly used psychological surveys, including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), discovered that more and more students are reporting symptoms of mental illness. [...]

How to Help Your Anxious Child Battle Back-to-School Fears

In this TV interview, Dr. McCarthy gives helpful tips for parents to try with their anxious child who has fear returning to school. This interview complements the last blog posted about dealing with school fears. Click here for the interview [...]

Book recommendation: The Joy of Parenting

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a new and powerful therapeutic approach for the treatment of child anxiety. This book explains how to use the principles of ACT in parenting, techniques that are especially helpful with anxious children. I just heard Dr. Coyne at the IOCDF conference this past weekend in Boston and she's very good. Check it out! Dr. Chris [...]