The 3 Best Ways to Help a Child with Anxiety: A Guide for Parents
Supporting children through anxiety can feel challenging for both parents and children. Understanding how to help can transform your child’s experience, making their world more manageable, brighter, and safer. Here are three effective ways to support a child with anxiety, including resources that can help build resilience and self-confidence.
1. Create a Safe Space for Open Communication
Encouraging a child to share their thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment is crucial. An article in Child Mind Institute highlights the importance of open communication, suggesting that parents practice active listening and validation without immediately seeking to “fix” things (Child Mind Institute). Letting children talk openly about their worries helps them understand their emotions and feel validated.
Practical Tips:
Use open-ended questions like, “How did that make you feel?” rather than “Why are you upset?” which can make children feel defensive.
Normalize their feelings by sharing stories of times you felt worried and how you managed.
2. Engage in Anxiety-Focused Storytelling
Books can be powerful tools for children, helping them see their feelings reflected and addressed in a safe, engaging context. Stories about characters overcoming fears can offer children strategies for facing their anxieties. For example, the Radley & Friends series introduces young readers to Radley, a young scuba diving stick figure with a permanent black eye who navigates life’s challenges under the sea. In Radley & Friends (2019), Radley finds acceptance and confidence while exploring the underwater world through short stories that rhyme. These relatable, gentle tales inspire children to see their uniqueness as strengths, not burdens.
Product Spotlight:
Radley & Friends – With a captivating storyline set beneath the sea, this book introduces young readers to themes of self-acceptance and resilience. By following Radley’s journey, children can feel more confident in managing mental health issues.
Details: Topics include overcoming bullying, self-confidence, strength, resilience, and creativity.
Audience: Recommended for children ages 8-10 but appreciated by all ages interested in the ocean, poetry, and stories of personal growth.
Radley & Friends II expands on friendship, introducing Murle, a friendly alien from an underwater world. The book offers stories that emphasize overcoming fears and building courage. It provides children a fantastical yet safe space to explore big emotions alongside Radley and his new friend.
Details: Topics include confidence, sadness, happiness, and discovering the wonders of the underwater world.
Audience: Recommended for children ages 10+
3. Use Mindfulness and Visualization Techniques
Practicing mindfulness can be a calming tool for anxious children. Techniques like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization are proven ways to help children calm their bodies and minds (American Psychological Association). Encouraging children to visualize a calming place, such as a peaceful underwater world, can be particularly effective, aligning with interests they may already enjoy.
Why Storytelling Matters
When children identify with characters and follow their journeys, it helps them process their feelings and see their struggles in a broader, more manageable context. Reading stories that reflect their inner emotions can encourage empathy, emotional regulation, and resilience in children. According to a study published in the Early Childhood Education Journal, engaging with emotionally supportive narratives can help children better understand their and others’ emotions. (Springer Link)
Books that touch on themes like anxiety allow children to recognize that overcoming obstacles is a shared human experience.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) also emphasizes the importance of building supportive environments for children’s mental health, including exposure to relatable and meaningful storytelling (NIMH). Giving children access to narratives about characters facing and overcoming challenges provides a framework for navigating their big emotions.
Finally, research from the American Psychological Association (APA) also suggests that reading stories where characters successfully cope with difficulties can foster coping skills in children (APA). Stories like those in the Radley & Friends series offer just that—relatable journeys through fear, friendship, and resilience, helping children feel less isolated in their experiences and more empowered to face challenges.
Final Thoughts
Helping a child with anxiety requires patience, understanding, and the right resources. By creating a supportive environment, encouraging empathy-building stories like those found in Radley & Friends, and practicing mindful techniques, you can give your child the tools they need to face their fears confidently.
