1. Always rushing

2. Unpredictable schedule

3. Lack of rules

4. Not discussing feelings

5. Over-controlling parenting

So...what can you do instead to prevent adding on anxiety to your child?

a) Model resilience- It’s okay to make mistakes. Perfection is not realistic. Let our kids see us mess up and us taking steps to fix our mistakes without being so hard on ourselves.

b) Teach coping strategies - Provide them with the resources they need that will help their anxiety. We all get anxious at times, but teaching coping strategies early will prepare our children later in life. Square breathing, sensory outputs, mindfulness and positive self talk can help kids when feeling anxious.

c) Create as much predictability as possible in the home. This applies to routines and also responses to behaviours. For children who thrive on routine they can become anxious when their routine changes. This naturally happens and things come up, but try to communicate any changes beforehand if your child struggles with this.

d) Remember age appropriate conversations. It is one thing to have worries as a parent about our children, but we don’t always need to explain what is going on that makes us worry as the perception of world is very different in their world.