HELPING
YOUR Anxious
CHILD BY LORI BAUDINO
A bout 30 percent of girls and 20 percent of
boys — totaling 6.3 million teens — have had
an anxiety disorder, according to data from the
National Institute of Mental Health. Experts
suspect that these statistics are on the low end of what’s
really happening, since many people do not seek help
for anxiety and depression. A 2015 report from the Child
Mind Institute found that only about 20 percent of young
people with a diagnosable anxiety disorder get treatment.

Dr. Lori Baudino, a board certified dance and movement
therapist and licensed clinical psychologist, believes that
anxiety in children today is rising because of exposure to
more parental worries, more violence, more media, more
stimulation and more expectations.

Fortunately, there are many ways to support children to
help overcome these discomforts and to set them up for
ease. The following are five ways to support a child that
is exhibiting anxious, fearful or distress symptoms:
1. TAKE NOTICE OF YOUR CHILD’S
NONVERBAL CUES. It’s easy to notice the presence
of anxiety when you know what to look for — just
take a look at your child’s nonverbal communication.

Identifying unusual patterns of eye contact, shoulder
shrugs, a trembling lip, posture changes and shaky or
fidgeting hands can be some initial signs of anxiety.

If you start to suspect something is off, investigate
further by asking your child if he or she ever
experiences a combination of issues like sweating
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palms, racing heart or trouble sleeping.

These are clear signs of anxiety.

2. ENCOURAGE OPEN COMMUNICATION.

Open communication is necessary if you want to
help manage your child’s anxiety. Create
special time for your child each day to have a
conversation about his or her feelings, opinions
and thoughts. When having this discussion,
make sure to validate these feelings and keep
a positive, non-judgmental attitude. Never
dismiss what your child is saying with “You’re
fine.” Instead, say something like “What is
causing you to feel this way?” Anxious children
will often remain silent about their issues if
they feel like they aren’t being understood.

3. TEACH YOUR CHILD TO EMBRACE ANXIOUS
THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS. People with anxiety
usually do everything they can to avoid what is
making them anxious. They tend to put off tasks
that are the source of their anxiety or become
suddenly reclusive when faced with an upcoming
anxiety-provoking event. However, in doing this,
the individual ends up maintaining the anxiety,
which eventually makes the problem much worse.

Try and teach your child that the best way to deal
with their worries is to acknowledge them right
away — to accept that these feelings exist and take
immediate steps to diminish them. Pushing away



feelings and thoughts, hoping they will eventually
go away on their own, will just make overcoming
the issue much more stressful in the end. Although
this is not an easy task for someone with anxiety,
with daily practice, it can dramatically help reduce
anxiety over time.

4. TRY MOVEMENT. An alternative way of
treating anxiety is through dance and movement
therapy. Consider enrolling your child in dance/
movement therapy sessions, which can create
ways to express psychological and emotional
experiences through the mind and body connection,
ultimately transforming words into action. The
dance movements range from simple breathing
to jumping, running, gross motor skills and even
watching movement. This therapeutic modality
provides children the opportunity to work through
psychological challenges, gain control, ease
discomfort, express their feelings about
their anxieties and to be a child again.

5. DE-STRESS EVERY DAY. Learning how to mentally
and physically calm down when anxiety strikes is
something every anxious child should know how to
do. Even the most basic relaxation exercises can
make a big improvement in reducing stress and
anxiety. Simple practices like taking a few deep,
slow breaths when anxious thoughts arise, or closing
the eyes and creating a mental picture of a relaxing
scenario can help to ease an anxious mind. In
addition, teaching your child to adopt the mindset
of living in the present can be tremendously
beneficial. Anticipatory anxiety can be tackled by
practicing mindfulness — being aware of the
moment — observing the sounds, sights, and touch
of the present. Mindfulness has been proven to
help support unwanted stressors.

It’s important to know that all anxiety is not the same.

If you find that your child’s anxiety is becoming too
difficult to manage, don’t be afraid to seek professional
help. The most important thing is to make sure your
child is taking the right steps to resolve the problem.

Lori M. Baudino, PsyD, BC-DMT, is a licensed clinical
psychologist and board-certified dance movement therapist.

She works extensively in private practice specializing in
children and parents.

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