For most bonfire night is a fun evening out and a chance for families to spend some time together to bond. However, bonfire night may seem quite different if you are a parent to an anxious child. There are many elements of the 5th of November traditions that anxious children may find scary.

All you need is a good night’s sleep. How many times are we told that this can solve all of our problems? Sleep is the way in which we relax our mind after a hard day of work and play, ready to get up and start the next day refreshed. And yet, when this starts to fail, it can be really hard to regain.

For most children, Halloween is a time of dressing up, eating sweets, and celebrating with friends and family—truly a fun time for most.

However, if your child struggles with anxiety, anything out of the ordinary can make them feel uncomfortable. The human brain craves familiarity, so Halloween can exacerbate anxiety or even make it worse.

School trips can be exciting for many children, but for some, the experience triggers overwhelming anxiety. As parents, it can be challenging to understand this emotional hurdle. This blog aims to shed light on why school trips can be stressful for some children and how you can help your child feel better about school trips.

As we all know, a lot can happen in a day, let alone a month!

It is so important to be mindful of how your child is coping with school life, especially when having such a long break and then returning to something that increases anxiety levels in them.

For those parents who work, we all know how it feels to have a week or two’s holiday and then return to an environment that might not be fulfilling... Imagine having at least a six-week break and returning to something that can be stressful and overwhelming!

Anxiety is confusing for everyone, not just the person experiencing it, but for those around them too.

It can be hard to understand the thoughts and behaviour of someone with anxiety if you have no experience of it yourself. You see them overthinking and being reluctant or unable to carry out even simple tasks and you wonder ‘what’s wrong with them?’ or ‘Why are they like this?’. I remember watching my stepsister worry about going to school. I didn’t realise the turmoil anxiety was causing her by overstimulating her brain with adrenaline.

Public transport is a common trigger for anxious thoughts. Many aspects can be overwhelming and difficult to handle, especially for those who experience anxiety. Know that you are not alone; feeling nervous about using public transport is completely normal, as there is a lot to think about.

Despite this, there are numerous ways to help ease feelings of anxiety, allowing you to use public transport with peace of mind and in a more relaxed state.

The challenge of children and young people struggling to attend school has grown significantly since the Covid era. This used to be called ‘school refusal’ but is now more correctly described as ‘emotionally based school non-attendance (EBSNA) to acknowledge the root cause as anxiety, and not simply that children are ‘choosing to refuse.’

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My younger self would have yelled at me, “You have it all, everything you’ve ever dreamed of” and she wouldn’t be wrong. A supportive partner, a loving family, our own home, and now, the opportunity to be “mummy” that I had previously thought I would never become.

So why is it that I continue to feel overwhelmed by anxiety?

An anxiety-related topic that I am passionate about is mindfulness. As I am studying for a degree in Psychology, positive psychology is a theory that has really stood out to me.

Positive psychology focuses on the ways that humans flourish, including positive events, influences, and experiences such as happiness, joy, and inspiration.

Mindfulness is often discussed within the topic of positive psychology as a way of reducing feelings of anxiety. I personally suffer from generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder, which have impacted my day-to-day life. From first-hand experience, I have found mindfulness to be extremely helpful when dealing with anxiety.

What are the signs, how do you know if your child is struggling with anxiety?

Here are some signs to look out for and be aware of.

You need to know that it is not a weakness to reach out and ask for advice or support, dealing with a child that is struggling with an Anxiety Disorder is extremely challenging and not something parents can do alone.

Think back to your first day at secondary school… were you filled with excitement at the thought of going to a new school or were you filled with dread and apprehension at the prospect of not knowing what changes lay ahead?

For most children, apprehension is the main emotion experienced and for those experiencing anxiety, sheer dread is at the forefront of their minds.

Your immediate answer to this question is probably a resounding “no”. Why would anyone intentionally teach their child to fail?

As parents, we strive to give our children a safe home, the best education and the best of everything that we can give them.

Surely that is what we are supposed to do?

Here is the surprising answer: No.

Here are five strategies to help you create an environment at home that minimises anxiety and encourages emotional well-being.

1 Acknowledge Your Own Anxiety

The first step towards an anxiety-safe home involves acknowledging and understanding our own anxiety. It's crucial to self-reflect and consider how our actions and reactions may influence our children. Anxiety

Summer holidays typically evoke images of radiant sunshine, spontaneous laughter, and the freedom to explore. Yet, for a significant number of children, the end of their structured school routine and the onset of the summer break can be a catalyst for anxiety. As a parent, it's challenging to see your child face these waves of anxiety.

Watching your child suffer from anxiety can be devastating when witnessing parts of their personality gradually change to the point where you may no longer recognise them.

When your child starts to suffer from anxiety it is important to know how to recognise these signs before the symptoms become amplified to the point of being debilitating to the child’s every day.

I wonder how many teenagers were like me, desperate to get my first part-time job. I certainly managed to find plenty of work, and I didn’t feel that I was unusual as most of my friends were doing the same. I

School refusal, hiding in their room, lashing out, angry outbursts, procrastinating, headaches, tummy aches, panic attacks, sleep difficulties, bad eating habits, frightened all the time or not being able to share how they are feeling.

For some children, it might be worse and have developed into more physical actions such as self-harm, dark thoughts or eating disorders.

In short, introducing your child to chess during their adolescence could have multifaceted benefits – not only could it enhance their cognitive development, but it could also provide them with a coping mechanism for managing anxiety. So, why not set up a chessboard and engage your child in a game?

It takes a lot of courage for a child to stand up and say, ‘This is who I am,’ unsure how others will accept them or even the fear of judgement and rejection will feed their anxiety.

As parents, we need to be comfortable with our children expressing themselves effectively. Allowing them the freedom to spread their wings and find themselves. See them as individuals and embrace them with love and compassion as they go through a journey of their own.