No parent wants to sit back and watch their child experience anxiety over any situation, whether it’s going to a new dance school, a soccer game, trying new food or meeting new kids at school.
And while most parents have the best intentions, many actually come to their child’s rescue during moments of distress — which can be hugely detrimental to their child now and as they grow up, therapists told HuffPost.
The best way to help your child grow through anxiety and learn to manage it isn’t exactly a natural instinct. Here’s what to know:
Protecting children from the things that make them anxious is the No. 1 way parents fuel anxiety and make it worse.
“I think, in particular with anxiety ... the biggest mistake that we make as parents is that when we see anxiety in our kids, we jump straight into that ‘I want to protect this child from this experience.’ So, we go straight to protection mode,” said Cheryl Donaldson, a licensed marriage and family therapist.
