Anxiety and Stress
Helping your child change thinking patterns
Teaching children to pay attention to what they’re thinking (called the cognitive behavioral approach) is commonly used by professionals to help reduce anxiety.
The premise is that thoughts affect feelings which, in turn, affect actions. By changing a thought, you can reduce the anxiety and become more comfortable addressing the fear.
Start by teaching your child to ask, “What's the evidence that what I’m afraid of is real?” When a child can see that a fear isn’t real, he can tell himself, “There are no monsters” (thought). As a result, he’ll feel less anxiety (feeling), and go to sleep in the dark (action).
Success Tip: Make sure you differentiate between your child’s feelings and what she fears. Even though the source of the fear may be exaggerated or unrealistic (like monsters in the closet), the fear and anxiety are real. It’s important to your child that you understand how afraid she’s feeling.
