As a parent, of course, you can see the differences in their children. In contrast to shyness, anxiety in children will make your child unable to socialize with the environment and have an excessive sense of fear, especially when being the center of attention.
7 Tips for Parents to Deal with Anxiety in Children
Children with anxiety disorders are more prone to feeling stress at a fairly severe level. And it can hurt your child’s academics, self-confidence, and social relationships.
Apart from relying on a psychologist, you can also help your child get out of anxiety in children. The 7 tips include:
Don’t Call Him Shy or Cowardly
If someone says that your child is shy or cowardly, try saying that your child is easy to get along with when your child knows that person well. This is done so that your child has confidence in front of other people.
Give an Explanation
A child will usually know what kind of situation will make him feel anxious. For this, you as a parent can explain to your child that he can tell you about his anxiety.
Don’t forget to give the understanding that feeling anxious is a natural thing. Also, explain that they have to deal with any anxiety slowly, also make sure that you will always accompany your child.
Read also : Benefits of Social Interaction for Mental Health
Plant Positive Thoughts
Excessive thinking will often be felt by children who have social anxiety. They will assume that the people around them will check, laugh at, and even insult them. Therefore, know the anxiety of your child has and instill positive thoughts so that your child can go through it slowly.
Teach How To Calm Yourself
Teach how to calm down to children who have social anxiety. First, you can teach your child to inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, and release for 4 counts.
And if your child has muscle tension teach your child how to relax it. You do this by forming a fist as hard as you can for 5 seconds, then slowly releasing it.
Teach Children How to Get Along
Introduce how to get along with children by playing a role. For example how to say hello, how to join or leave a group, start a conversation, listen and how to respond to other friends’ stories, and ask questions. Invite children to practice it starting from the family.
Avoid Forcing Children
When you are in a crowd with your child, don’t force your child to be the center of attention or talk to other people in that place. Try to discuss with the child whether he wants to talk to his friends. If so, then make sure your child can get along according to the techniques that have been taught.
Communicate with Teachers
If your child experiences social anxiety, it’s best to communicate this with the teacher at school. Discuss things that can be done together to help children deal with social anxiety. In this way, children get support from the environment outside the family.
Dealing with children with social anxiety is tiring. Hopefully, the information regarding the 7 ways to deal with anxiety in children above can help. And don’t forget to consult a psychologist about it.