Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders that is affecting children and adolescents. Anxiety disorders can interfere with students’ daily living activities such as academic achievement, school engagement, building healthy relationships and participation in extracurricular activities. Anxiety symptoms can be managed and treated. Below are some helpful steps that parents and guardians can take to support their student in managing anxious feelings.
Getting a good night’s sleep can help a child or teen deal more effectively with stress. Keep a routine at home so that your child goes to bed at the same time each night. Even teens need a nighttime routine to help give them stability and the proper amount of rest. I recommend using mindfulness or deep breathing exercises to support a good night’s sleep!
(Check out my website about helpful apps that you and your student can use!)
Students perform better in school if they have a balanced breakfast each morning. This can also help them to cope with the stress at school.
An exercise program helps to keep your children’ healthy and relaxed. Even 15-20 minutes of exercise each day improves concentration and focus and may help your child’s coping skills. This could be as simple as taking a walk together, stretching, doing yoga, going to the basketball court, etc.
Check out my website about resources regarding out of school time and pro-social activities!
Many times children will tell themselves, “I can’t” over and over throughout the day. Teaching them to replace these thoughts with “I can” will enable them to improve their self-esteem and will begin a process of overcoming negative thinking.
Provide your child or teen with skills to help them relax during stressful situations. Deep breathing, visualization and focusing on relaxing muscles can help them better cope and calm down during stressful times at school. Here is my website for helpful relaxation apps!
When anxiety symptoms do not go away or continue to worsen or consistently interfere with your child’s ability to perform well at school, talk with your doctor about anxiety and what treatments are available. You can also check out my website regarding Community Resources that are available to help get your student the support that they need!