Childhood Anxiety

Children suffer stress from school-work, sports, and socializing more commonly than you might think. While we know that our children’s educators are much more positive and supportive and bullying is less prevalent than in our days, children still have plenty of worries, they are just different than ours.

The latest statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health show that anxiety disorders affect 1 in 8 children. Have you ever received a call from the teacher telling you that your daughter crumpled or ripped a worksheet to pieces? It is tempting to scold your child for bad behavior and remind them of the appropriate conduct at school and, unfortunately, anxiety is often misread as anger, opposition, or distractability. It can look like a lot of things. Children may not understand or have the words to express their feelings so they might manifest their anxiety with behavioral outbursts. In fact, some anxious children work hard to internalize their anxiety when they’re out in the world, coming completely unglued once they get home.

Here are some common signs of anxiety:

• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Sleepiness
• Disruptive behavior
• Squirming
• Difficulty falling asleep
• Inability to accept constructive criticism
• “Freezing”
• Nail biting, hair pulling, cheek biting.

Untreated childhood anxiety develops into adult anxiety, avoidant behaviors, and/or depression. 80% of adults seeking treatment for anxiety remember feeling stressed and anxious as children. If your child demonstrates any of these symptoms, please reach out. We can complete a comprehensive evaluation using standardized assessments for anxiety, learning disabilities, and attentional issues.

Interested in a free consultation? Contact us and let us know your concerns.