Identifying your child’s anxious expectations can help you to understand what they need to learn in order to overcome their anxiety.

Using a worry tree can help children to learn how to notice the difference between the worries that they can do something about and the worries that they can’t. Try giving this a go together, starting at the top, and working your way down the tree.

Listening to your child helps them feel heard, supports them to process their own emotions, and builds trust in your relationship.

For those worries that they can’t do anything about, creating a worry box can give you and your child the opportunity to talk through their worries and can also help to create a little distance between your child and their fears.

The theme for Children’s Mental Health Week 2024 is ‘my voice matters’, focusing on encouraging and empowering children to freely express their feelings, thoughts and opinions, and to be listened to and acknowledged.

If you think there might be something on your child’s mind, try engaging them in a gentle activity that you both enjoy and start a conversation from there.

Help and encourage your child in the morning by breaking tasks down into smaller steps using a visual timetable. You could even get creative and design one together.

It can be tempting to repeatedly reassure children when they feel anxious. You might notice it can help them feel better in the short term. Over time, however, they may begin to rely on repeatedly seeking reassurance about the same fear instead of using new information to learn that they can cope.

Sometimes, what kids do for reassurance, may limit their discovery of their own coping skills. Supporting your child to reduce repetitive checking behaviours over time can help manage their anxiety.