When to seek help for anxiety in children?

Often parents ask me whether I think their child is anxious, or if it worth seeking help for whatever their child might be going through. As parents know, children experience a range of emotions and difficulties, sometimes more often than other times. It can be difficult to know whether it is a passing phase, or something worth paying closer attention to.

You may notice that one week your daughter is having difficulty sleeping because of a school presentation she's got on and she is concerned about how it will go. That seems to die away until a week later she is telling you that she is scared of starting swimming lessons. But then, after a few weeks she settles into it. She might still feel hesitant before going swimming, but manages to adjust pretty soon after arriving. Then a birthday party for a new friend comes up, and she's clinging to you most of the party but just the week before she'd raced off as soon as you'd arrived for a play date at a friend's house.

Does this sound familiar to you?

Often children who experience anxiety will have it manifest in various ways at different times. School work, new or unfamiliar situations, social occasions or even a change in routine could all trigger anxiety. If this is happening more days than not overall, and interfering with what your child wants to be doing or needs to do, it is worth considering seeking help.