In a Stanford BeWell Q&A, Hans Steiner, MD, psychiatry professor emeritus, discusses signs that a child might be experiencing anxiety and offers suggestions on what parents can do to help. He notes that seven to 10 percent of children have a diagnosed anxiety disorder, with another 10 to 15 percent showing isolated symptoms.
Steiner encourages parents to seek professional help when many symptoms of anxiety are present and interfering with a child's functioning. But he also urges them not to overreact. From the piece:
Overprotecting makes [children] ill-prepared to face the world. Unless you are striving to raise a Victorian spinster, you need to get them out there and enable them to take care of themselves.
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Ignoring anxiety leaves the child equally unprepared because there is no instruction and modeling coming from you as to how they need to deal with it.
Previously: Examining the benefits of estrogen therapy for girls with anorexia, Yoga classes may boost high-school students’ mental well-being, How should pediatricians talk about obesity? and New report urges pediatricians to talk to parents about social media
Photo by Sherif Salama
