Since this week is Children’s Mental Health Week, I’m sharing some of my top tips and experience that I’ve used with my own children and hope will be helpful for you too.

1 in 6 children and young people have a diagnosable mental health problem, and many more struggle with challenges from bullying to bereavement.

50% of those with lifetime mental health problems first experience symptoms by the age of 14.

This is why we need to equip young people with skills to build emotional fitness, improve their wellbeing and manage their emotions.

Talk at every opportunity.

You can use car journeys, meal times, walking to school or going for a coffee for opportunities to talk about the day or something else.

If they’re in a mood or had a rough day, get them talking so that throughout the conversation they can change their perspective on the day.  Perhaps they’ll then begin to realise it wasn’t the whole day that was bad.

3 Key Phrases

I share my 3 key phrases that work in all sorts of situations to ensure we calm down the brain and stop people and children being defensive.

Remember to Tell Stories

I shared in the last podcast episode about the power of sharing stories. What you’re demonstrating here is:

• You are not alone
• I felt like that once too
• I know what you mean
• Over time things change

Why side by side conversations are really powerful to ensure there is no pressure to make eye contact and reduce any confrontational feelings.

Help them figure out their own struggles. 

Listen in to the explanation of this and why and how this builds resilience. I give examples of questions you can ask and what can happen when you do this so they move out of catastrophe and doom and gloom situations.

Self Esteem is often a tough one to build

I share some simple and effective tips so you can talk about the good things that they do, rather than how they are as a person.  Listen in for examples.

Finally…

You’re not supposed to be your child’s therapist, but you are supposed to be their confidant, their safe place, and the person they come to.

However difficult it is for you – it’s going to be so much harder for them.

I hope this is helpful for you. Please do share any feedback or any questions on this, drop me an email at emma@emmalangton.com

For further information on 1:1, group coaching or training get in touch.

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If you want to be increasing your performance so that you’re more resilient, less stressed in these current times, so that you can focus easily, use tools and techniques to deal with all the current and unknown challenges then make sure that you send me an email or use the online diary and arrange a time for a chat.

No-one wants an anxious child!  Anxiety in children can come from a number of different sources although it can often be anticipation of events causes the issue. So what’s going on and how can you help your anxious child?

For example, as my daughter heads back to school for a new school year with some new teachers, new timetable and other new things, I can see her anxiety rising. It’s common, for her and for other children.

The world is a complex and sometimes a confusing place, so children can quite naturally feel a little anxious every once in awhile. Short periods of anxiety don’t appear to do any harm as long as the anxiety is short lived. For some children, however, tension and anxiety can become a commonplace and regular response to daily events, and this is where it can become a problem.

How Do You Spot the Anxious Child?

An anxious child may be affected physically in a range of ways. They may complain of headache, tummy ache or feeling sick; they may have faster heart-rate, shallow breathing, be fidgety or fussy, quieter or more talkative. They may also seem to have difficulty listening or following instructions (think about how you feel when you are worried or anxious!).

For something school related there may be worries regarding their performance in class and even criticism from teachers, tutors and friends can all result in feelings of prolonged panic or anxiety. There could also be issues with friendships, peers or even bullying. The issue is that when a child develops panic and anxiety they can become withdrawn, difficult, uneasy or fearful and this can have a serious effect on their development. They may begin to avoid places or people that cause that reaction in them. For instance, tension and anxiety at high school can lead to absenteeism, as they try to avoid the negative feelings or the circumstances that cause those feelings.

An anxious child can have trouble sleeping, become moody, exhibit a lessening of concentration at school, neglect social events and even try alcohol and drug abuse if the matter is just not addressed early enough. Early resolution of anxiety stop these problems being adopted as normal behaviours and therefore affecting them for his or her entire life.

What Can You Do?

As a parent or carer of an anxious child you can be empathic about their behaviour and responses. Try to always see that the behaviour is a way of communicating how they feel. Tell them you understand they must feel worried or anxious and that it’s OK to have those feelings.  You can also probably make some educated guesses at what is going on (as I did with my daughters’ time for return to school). Sometimes we don’t know the reason though, and sometimes we can’t do anything about the cause, but we can still help the child with their feelings. Here’s a technique I teach many children which can help them control their breathing, which in turn reduces their anxious feelings.

Balloon Breathing

How Hypnotherapy Helps an Anxious Child

When a child is battling with anxiety and the cause is unknown or the child is struggling a lot, it is likely that the behaviours will be triggered as a result of the beliefs held at a subconscious level which is where hypnotherapy comes into play. By using hypnotherapy an anxious child can be helped to understand these feelings and address the underlying beliefs.  Learning tools and techniques can help them change the way they think and respond in those previously anxious situations.

Children are more open to hypnosis than adults because they’re more likely to enjoy daydreaming and have active imaginations. Hypnosis is our natural learning state, which children adopt frequently, so they normally relax and really feel comfortable very quickly. An anxious child can imagine ways to let go of their troubles and create powerful visualisations to help their anxiety.

Find out more at www.emmalangton.co.uk and read about testimonials from people I have worked with.  

If you need help incorporating any of the above get in touch for a complementary telephone consultation and learn how I can help you incorporate easy things in your life.