The Child Anxiety FAQ Dawn Friedman MSEd

Poor self esteem is super common in child anxiety and no wonder -- anxiety upends our ability to do the things they want to do or that are expected of them. Let's talk about what we can do as loving, supportive parents.

I have several tips, mostly about finding new ways to consider what parenting an anxious child is supposed to be, which might help you feel less pressured to "fix" things.

We interrogate this whole idea of manipulation, look at child development, and talk about better ways to consider the situation.

A parent contacted me about an 8-year old whose separation anxiety means their child meltsdown every time she tries to leave the house. We talk about what we need to know and give a brief overview on how what we're doing might unintentionally be encouraging meltdowns (and what to do instead).

Because there was so little detail offered in this question it gave me the chance to explain what we need to know and why we need to know it to hopefully offer some ideas about next steps for listeners.