What can parents do for children suffering from anxiety?

Children worry from time to time, but what can you do asks Catherine Shanahan if anxiety begins to dominate?

AS parents, we are hellbent on preserving that carefree innocence that makes children so special. But while we cultivate a happy-go-lucky attitude in our children, some of them habitually stress — and develop anxiety disorders. Left untreated, they will be at higher risk of performing poorly in school, of missing out on important social experiences or, worse, engaging in substance abuse. But what are the signs? How do we recognise a developing anxiety disorder?

With 25 years’ experience in child and adolescent mental health, social worker and psychotherapist, Dr John Sharry, says worry is a feature of childhood. “For small children, it’s often linked to a developmental stage, for example separation anxiety when separated from a parent. In puberty, it can be fuelled by a growing self-consciousness and worry about fitting in with their peers. Or there may be a ‘people-pleaser’ element, where kids are anxious about doing well and may feel they’ve let people down or didn’t handle a situation effectively. For some children, there are personality factors or genetic factors. If you’ve a parent who is a worrier, then it can rub off on the child. Essentially, they feed each others’ worries,” Dr Sharry says.