Do you constantly find yourself worrying and stressing about the slightest thing with respect to your child? In today’s world, anxiety is ever increasing. What with the current global events, terrorism and wars, there is even more to worry about and that is totally justified. When it comes to kids and their daily lives, parents today, worry more and feel less capable of making everyday decisions, and that is unnecessary.

Children, whose parents view the world as a scary place often think of it in the same way. Parents are a child’s role model for many behaviours, including anxiety. If a parent shows anxiety by screaming and running out of the room when they see a spider versus reacting calmly, children are more likely to develop fears similar to those of their parents. Children whose parents struggle with anxiety are 2 to 7 times more likely to develop an anxiety disorder themselves, according to Golda Ginsburg, a psychologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who studies childhood anxiety.

An over-anxious parent is not only harming their own health and interfering in their daily life but is creating a child who is fearful in general, afraid to take risks and without confidence.

How can you as a parent overcome this feeling of anxiety? Read on to find out.

• Admit you are over-anxious.
  Admitting to the fact that your feelings of fear are overpowering and that you give in to them without rationalizing, is the first step to overcoming your anxiety.
• Focus on facts rather than imaginary scenarios.
  Something can always go wrong, no matter what. Determine what it is that is making you anxious and why. Is there a rational reason? What are the facts? Is it truly dangerous or is it a hypothesis you are making on assumptions. If it has true grounds, and should be avoided then ok. But, is there a way of over-coming your fear and finding a manageable solution?
• Slow down your reaction time.
  Do not intervene too quickly. Watch your child and intervene if they are truly in danger otherwise give them the chance to tackle the problem by themselves. You will be offering them the opportunity to develop problem tackling skills, which they will need as they grow older.
• Hone in on yourself.
  Do you have too much spare time and don’t know what to do with it? Are you using your child as an excuse to keep busy and to take your mind off things, that you may be possibly be avoiding? Spend some time on yourself: exercise, watch your diet and socialize; this will help you feel better and possibly shift your mindset. It will make you happy and help with putting things in perspective. Remember, happy parents make happy children! 🙂

Anxiety is a slipper slope. If you give it an inch, it will take a mile. Do not give into it!

Might you be so over-anxious that you could you possibly be overparenting? Click here to read the post ‘5 signs you might be overparenting’ .

Till next time… ❤

Photo used on the featured image was downloaded from the internet.