Guidance Officer News
Helping your Child Manage Anxiety
Anxiety is the general feeling of worry or fear that something bad may happen. It is common for children to feel anxious, worried or afraid during different stages of their development. The following may indicate increased anxiety in your child:
- Excessive worry often the most common symptom, ranging from worrying about big events to minor everyday occurrences
- Sleep Problems – trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, nightmares or other sleep disturbances
- Physical symptoms – include headaches, stomach aches or unexplained aches and pains
- Changes in Behaviour – including irritability, restlessness, being overwhelmed, and/or avoidance of activities and situations that were previously enjoyed
- Trouble concentrating – difficulty focusing on school work and everyday tasks
How to help your child
If your child is showing signs of typical childhood anxiety, worries or fears, you can support them in several ways, including:
- Acknowledging your child’s fear or worry, and reassure that these feelings are normal.
- Talking with your child about what is making them worried
- Gently encourage your child to face situations they’re anxious about, starting with situations that cause the least anxiety
- Waiting until your child gets anxious before you step in to help.
- Acknowledging and praising your child for doing something they’re anxious about.
The BRAVE Program is an interactive, online program for the prevention and treatment of childhood and adolescent anxiety. Designed by the University of Queensland, the programs are free, and provide ways for children and teenagers to better cope with their worries. BRAVE Self-Help is an interactive, online prevention and intervention program for childhood and youth anxiety.
BRAVE teaches cognitive behavioural strategies to manage anxiety and worry, through a program of 4 to 10 sessions (depending on the age level). Each session builds on information and strategies learnt in the previous session, and aims to help young people manage anxiety.
There are also parent sessions to help parents to better manage their anxious child. The BRAVE for Young Children is completely parent focused and gives practical strategies to help you and your child manage anxiety. For further information, please visit
https://brave4you.psy.uq.edu.au/
Leanne Watson
Guidance Officer
Student Wellbeing
Enoggera State School - Thursday and Friday