1. Ask your child to give anxiety a name or draw it out. Then help your child to acknowledge it when it comes: "Is that how Rara the pokey ball is making you feel, telling you to be alone and cry?" When children get to recognise anxiety, it allows them to own it like a boss.
   

2. Help your child to feel competent without you around. With the approach of "I do > we do > you do", building your child's competency allows them to grow their confidence and thus increases distress tolerance. If your child is anxious about speaking in public, you could try bringing them to a cozy, slower paced restaurant: show your child how to order from a menu (I do), then get your child to do it together with you (we do), at this point your child may whisper to you instead but that's okay, and finally have your child (you do) order directly with the server for his favourite dessert.
   

3. Model your own ways of dealing with anxiety. The little people in our lives are always watching what we do, how we react and respond to things. This is their way of soaking up experiences so that they can learn to survive. So be mindful how you react to anxiety-provoking moments and share with them how you deal with it. "Mama gets anxious too when I go to somewhere new. It is really helpful for me when I wriggle my toes and take in deep breaths."

If you have any concerns about your child's socio-emotional wellbeing in school, please feel free to get in touch with our School Counsellors.