Managing childhood anxiety

Managing childhood anxiety

Natasha Burgert

Book - 2025

"Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in young children. Managing Childhood Anxiety For Dummies is the go-to resource for parents of young children who suspect their child may be experiencing anxiety but aren't sure where to start. Learn to recognize the symptoms of anxiety in kids who may be too young to explain how they're feeling and get expert advice on supporting them with proper treatment and guidance. Find answers to questions like: When is worry normal, and when it is a sign of anxiety? Which interventions are most effective for anxious kids? How can I make my home or classroom less stress inducing? Written by an experienced pediatrician, this compassionate book challenges harmful taboos about mental hea...lth and equips you with the tools you need to be a resource to any young child with anxiety"--

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Subjects
Anxiety in children.
Anxiety in children > Diagnosis.
Anxiety in children > Treatment.
Parenting.
Children's Health.
Child & Adolescent.
Psychotherapy.
PSYCHOLOGY.
Anxieties & Phobias.
SELF-HELP.
HEALTH & FITNESS.
Anxiety in children
Anxiety.
Self-help publications.
Informational works.
Genres
Self-help publications
Informational works
Published
Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, Inc [2025]
Language
English
Main Author
Natasha Burgert (author)
Item Description
Includes index.
Physical Description
xii, 322 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
ISBN
9781394329557
  • Introduction
  • Part 1. Getting Started with Managing Childhood Anxiety
  • Chapter 1. Worrying About Your Child's Worries
  • Defining Anxiety
  • Analyzing Anxiety
  • Seeing rising rates of anxiety
  • Finding the roots of anxiety
  • Looking for Anxiety in Children
  • Appreciating child development
  • Showing, not telling
  • Checking out various anxiety types
  • Getting the Diagnosis
  • Starting with your child's doctor
  • Considering alternative diagnoses
  • Accepting your child's anxiety
  • Exploring Treatment
  • Leaning into therapy
  • Fueling the anxious brain
  • Providing protection
  • Considering anxiety medications
  • Finding support at school
  • Prioritizing safety
  • Helping Your Child Where You Can
  • Beginning with you
  • Seeing it through
  • Chapter 2. Recognizing That Kids Aren't Little Adults
  • Meeting the Boss: Your Child's Brain
  • The vital hindbrain
  • The emotional inner brain
  • The thinking outer brain
  • Appreciating Plasticity
  • Looking at Chemical Communicators
  • Examining how neurotransmitters work
  • Meeting the messengers
  • Discovering How Emotions Grow
  • Exploring Social-Emotional Milestones
  • Toddlers (2- 4years)
  • Early childhood (5- 7years)
  • Middle childhood (8-1 1years)
  • Recognizing Challenges in Pediatric Mental Health
  • Chapter 3. Knowing Your Family Isn't Alone
  • Anxious Kids Are Everywhere
  • Exploring the Rise in Child Anxiety
  • Advancing science
  • Normalizing mental health
  • Increasing screen time
  • Acknowledging the pandemic effect
  • Amplifying background stressors
  • Increasing parental stress
  • Predicting Anxiety
  • Developing brains and anxiety symptoms
  • Sharing genetics and epigenetics
  • Appreciating child temperament
  • Looking at parenting style
  • Accepting Your Child's Anxiety
  • Identifying anxiety early matters
  • Reframing your role
  • Chapter 4. Seeing What Anxiety Looks Like in Kids
  • Recognizing That Anxiety Is the Greatest Mimicker
  • Introducing two different case studies
  • Hunting for clues
  • Looking for a chameleon
  • Monitoring for misdirection
  • Understanding Anxiety's Three Parts
  • Emotional
  • Behavioral
  • Physical
  • Noticing How Child Anxiety Differs from Adult Anxiety
  • Physiology
  • Temperament
  • Environment
  • Time span
  • Distinguishing Types of Child Anxiety Disorders
  • Specific phobias
  • Separation anxiety disorder
  • Selective mutism
  • Generalized anxiety disorder
  • Social anxiety disorder
  • Agoraphobia
  • Panic disorder
  • Identifying Childhood Anxiety Matters
  • Chapter 5. Understanding Normal Childhood Worries and Fears
  • Appreciating the Stress Response
  • Finding signs of stress in kids
  • Recognizing childhood stress
  • Knowing It's Normal to Worry
  • Defining age-appropriate worries
  • Supporting kids who worry
  • Differentiating worry from anxiety
  • Looking at two real-world examples
  • Tackling Fears
  • Maturing from imaginary to reality-based fears
  • Helping a scared child
  • Distinguishing fears from phobias
  • Chapter 6. Watching Out for Medical Mimickers
  • Appreciating the Brain-Body Connection
  • Responding to Tummy Troubles
  • Exploring the causes of CAP
  • Introducing the ENS
  • Looking for clues
  • Warning signs to never ignore
  • Getting the scoop on poop
  • Helping tummy pain at home
  • Managing Sleepless Nights
  • Surveying slumbering symptoms
  • Getting better zzz's
  • Dealing with Nagging Headaches
  • Warning signs to never ignore
  • Distinguishing headache types
  • Relieving headaches at home
  • Experiencing Urinary Issues
  • Peeing too much
  • Peeing too little
  • Handling Concerning Chest Pain
  • Reacting to stress
  • Warning signs to never ignore
  • Taking Care of Tics (Not Ticks)
  • Identifying tics
  • Managing tics
  • Watching Out for Thyroid Disorders
  • Part 2. Diagnosing Child Anxiety
  • Chapter 7. Visiting the Doctor
  • Finding a Great Pediatrician
  • Preparing for the Office Visit
  • Organizing and prioritizing
  • Engaging educators
  • Including all caregivers
  • Asking for a private conversation
  • Preparing your child
  • Understanding Confidentiality
  • Optimizing Your Appointment Day
  • Avoiding "Doctor Office Don'ts"
  • Chapter 8. Walking Through the Psychological Evaluation
  • Getting Ready for a Mental Health Assessment
  • Selecting a mental health clinician
  • Preparing for the visit
  • Explaining the visit to your child
  • Understanding What a Mental Health Visit Looks Like
  • Structured interview
  • Standardized rating scales
  • Cognitive and academic testing
  • Feedback and recommendations
  • Expecting Difficult Questions
  • Social determinants of health
  • Adverse childhood experiences
  • Positive childhood experiences
  • Exploring Alternatives to an Anxiety Diagnosis
  • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Depression
  • Learning disabilities
  • Neurodiversity or autism spectrum disorder
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
  • Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
  • Perfectionism
  • Sensory processing issues
  • Part 3. Treating Child Anxiety
  • Chapter 9. Exploring Child Therapy Options
  • Understanding the Importance of Therapy
  • Discovering How Child Therapy Works
  • Reframing Therapy Myths
  • "Therapy didn't work for me, so it won't work for my kid."
  • "Won't a pill work faster? Let's do that."
  • "Can't I do this at home? I've been to therapy and know how it works."
  • "They don't want to go to therapy, so we need something else."
  • "Therapy is making kids weaker."
  • Finding a Therapist
  • Affording Therapy
  • Setting Expectations for Therapy
  • Seeing What a Therapy Session Looks Like
  • Mapping out the phases of therapy
  • Choosing online versus in-person
  • Telling Your Child about Therapy
  • Distinguishing Types of Anxiety Therapy for Kids
  • CBT
  • ACT
  • DBT-C
  • SPACE training
  • PCIT
  • Play therapy
  • EMDR
  • Preparing Yourself for After the Session
  • Chapter 10. Anxiety Medications: What Parents Need to Know
  • Considering Anxiety Medications for Kids
  • Understanding how medications work
  • Knowing when medication is needed
  • Finding a prescriber
  • Appreciating Principles in Medicine Management
  • Building a partnership
  • Respecting individuality
  • Targeting symptoms
  • Recognizing that pills are not skills
  • Starting low and going slow
  • Sticking to one change at a time
  • Preparing for Your Child's Medical Plan
  • Knowing your family history
  • Inquiring about insurance
  • Practicing how to swallow a pill
  • Defining your goals
  • Prioritizing Safety
  • Straight talk: Suicide and kids
  • Understanding the risk
  • Reducing access to means
  • Storing medications and other substances
  • Maintaining bedroom safety
  • Completing safety planning
  • Detailing Commonly Used Anxiety Medications
  • Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
  • Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
  • Alpha-agonists
  • Antihistamines
  • Practicing Successful Medication Habits
  • Prioritizing safe storage
  • Normalizing a routine
  • Avoiding self-administration
  • Expecting frequent follow-up visits
  • Looking toward your goals
  • Addressing Common Questions and Concerns
  • "I don't want to turn my kid into a zombie."
  • "I don't want medicine to change who they are."
  • "Don't kids become dependent on these medications?"
  • "These medications never worked for me. Why will they work for my kid?"
  • "I've heard these medications aren't FDA-approved for anxiety. Is it safe to use something 'off label'?"
  • "My kid is so young; will they need this forever?"
  • "What about long-term side effects?"
  • "What if the medications don't work?"
  • "This dose is the same that their father is on. Isn't that too high?"
  • "What about lab work?"
  • Chapter 11. Evaluating Supplements and Nutraceuticals
  • Navigating the Supplement Landscape
  • Distinguishing pharmaceuticals from supplements and nutraceuticals
  • Using supplements with kids
  • Supplementing Smartly
  • Starting with supplements
  • Understanding risks
  • Making better choices
  • Surveying Anxiety Supplements
  • Omega-3 blends
  • Vitamin D
  • Magnesium
  • Iron
  • Zinc
  • Complex B vitamins
  • Probiotics
  • Amino acids
  • Lavender
  • Saffron
  • Ashwagandha
  • CBD
  • Part 4. Parenting Your Anxious Child
  • Chapter 12. Analyzing Your Parenting Style and Anxiety's Impact
  • Determining Your Parenting Style
  • Putting Your Parenting Style into Action
  • Linking Parenting Behaviors and Anxious Kids
  • Contributing to child anxiety
  • Protecting against anxiety
  • Reflecting on your parenting behaviors
  • Parenting with Anxiety
  • Anxiety intercepts your parenting effectiveness
  • Anxiety intensifies your child's experience with anxiety
  • Anxiety makes your emotional interpretations inaccurate
  • Anxiety is contagious
  • Anxiety changes your parenting memories
  • Anxiety interferes with your relationships
  • Anxiety steals your parenting joy
  • Anxiety is worth treating
  • Avoiding Accommodation
  • Discovering your accommodation behaviors
  • Stopping accommodation
  • Chapter 13. Optimizing Your Home Environment
  • Understanding That Anxiety Management Starts at Home
  • Prioritizing Sleep
  • Appreciating the need for sleep
  • Knowing that sleep impacts the whole family
  • Noting sleep differences in anxious kids
  • Bedsharing with anxious kids
  • Committing to healthy bedtime habits
  • Moving for Mental Health
  • Embracing the outdoors
  • Energizing family movement
  • Fueling the Anxious Body and Brain
  • Connecting anxiety and food issues
  • Making small changes
  • Succeeding with Screen Time
  • Acknowledging interference
  • Constructing safer screen time at home
  • Prioritizing Play
  • Balancing types of play
  • Valuing play for anxious kids
  • Avoiding overscheduling
  • Leaning into Routines
  • Distinguishing routines from schedules
  • Building home routines
  • Chapter 14. Thriving in School and Sports for Anxious Kids
  • Expecting Back-to-School Anxiety
  • Experiencing Anxiety in School
  • Identifying school anxiety
  • Supporting anxious kids in the classroom
  • Refusing to Go to School
  • Understanding school refusal
  • Helping a child with school refusal
  • Looking at the Landscape of Today's Youth Sports
  • Reaping the benefits of organized sports
  • Examining anxiety in organized sports
  • Supporting Your Young Athlete
  • Keeping the fun in sport
  • Encouraging physical literacy
  • Choosing variety as long as you can
  • Prioritizing recovery
  • Modeling emotional control
  • Handling the car ride home
  • Teaming Up Against Sports Anxiety
  • Looking for signs
  • Managing sports anxiety
  • Chapter 15. Implementing Behavior Management Strategies
  • Understanding How Behaviors Are Learned
  • Recognizing a Positive Parenting Household
  • Building relationship
  • Paying attention and empathizing
  • Prioritizing safety
  • Honoring developmental skills
  • Promoting social-emotional learning
  • Creating and enforcing boundaries
  • Avoiding punishments and preparing consequences
  • Using clear communication
  • Prioritizing space for self-care
  • Choosing Effective Strategies
  • Tailoring Strategies for Kids with Anxiety
  • Searching for context
  • Creating consistency
  • Clarifying "zero tolerance"
  • Calming first
  • Modeling imperfection
  • Avoiding avoidance
  • Catching your child being brave
  • Managing Challenging Behavior
  • Chapter 16. Calming Techniques and Why They Work
  • Calming the Brain and Body
  • Managing anxiety with self-regulation
  • Building self-regulation skills
  • Teaching Calming Techniques to Your Child
  • Timing matters
  • Learning together
  • Using co-regulation
  • Trusting the process
  • Exploring Calming Techniques
  • Breath control
  • Grounding
  • Cognitive engagement
  • Putting Calming Techniques into Action
  • Dealing with Panic Attacks in Kids
  • Dissecting what happens to the body during a panic attack
  • Identifying panic
  • Appreciating panic's uniqueness
  • Supporting your child during a panic attack
  • Chapter 17. Focusing on Specific Concerns and Worries
  • Getting an Anxious Child to Sleep
  • The Yale Program
  • The bedtime pass
  • Camping out
  • Scheduling check-ins
  • Supplementing Sleep
  • Melatonin
  • Iron
  • Magnesium
  • L-theanine
  • Examining Anxiety in Toddlers
  • Understanding toddler fears
  • Remembering your role
  • Taming toddler anxiety
  • Watching out for concerning signs
  • Changing Bodies and Anxiety
  • Co-Parenting an Anxious Child
  • Focusing on your child
  • Informing and communicating
  • Handling drop-offs and pick-ups
  • Parenting in your own home
  • Part 5. The Part of Tens
  • Chapter 18. Ten Ways to Support Kids Who Fear Needles
  • Chapter 19. Ten Signs Your Child Needs Professional Help
  • Chapter 20. Ten Things to Say to Your Anxious Child
  • Appendix: Recommended Resources
  • Index

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