Some Tips for Helping Anxious Kids

I copied the following from the Love & Logic Institute -

Like nearly all of the challenges faced by parents, anxiety in children has many possible causes and solutions. Fortunately, Love and Logic offers a variety of "experiments" to determine what might work best with each unique child:

Establish or strengthen family routines. With anxious, fearful kids, experiments with having set times for meals, bath times, reading, chores, bed times, etc.

Provide firmer limits. There are few things more reassuring to a child than knowing that they have parents who are strong enough to beat-up the Boogie Man if he broke into the house at night. All children wonder if they have parents who are strong enough to keep them safe. One of the ways they find out is to test limits and see if their parents appear weak or very strong.

Give less attention to anxious behavior. Experiment with using fewer words when your child is upset. Simply hug them and say, "I know you can handle this."

Model Calmness and optimism. Our children will rarely be any calmer and more confident than we are.

Avoid reinforcing avoidance behavior. Too frequently we traumatize children more by allowing them to repeatedly avoid healthy activities that can build their sense of security and self-esteem.

Allow your child to be a child. Every year, children are being pushed harder to become stars in academics, athletics, music, etc. This isn't good for kids.

Consider professional help. Because anxiety can have so many different causes, its always wise to get a professional medical opinion.

What do School Counselors DO?

I was at a National Board Meeting this weekend and during lunch, a classroom teacher asked me, "So what do you do when you are not doing Guidance activities in the classroom?"
It was then that I realized that if a Teacher doesn't know what School Counselors do... odds are, Parents and community members dont know either.

So.... in a nutshell, this is what I do.

The first two weeks I consult with parents about new behaviors they are seeing with their child and also any changes in the home (new job, lost a job, new house, death of a grandparent, marriage, divorce ect).
I also consult with Teachers about the students they have in their classroom, help them problem solve and help them to provide the best educational environment they can.

Once the frantic first two weeks pass, I have the following schedule:
Monday - I meet with the principals, see individual students, do group counseling.
Tuesday - ARD/IMPACT/504 and parent conferences
Wednesday thru Friday - Guidance activities
Everyday - Crisis intervention

Then I have an area called Universal Components... they include the following:
Career/post seconday exploration (career fair, college day, classroom guidance), Family and Community Relationships (parenting classes, Blog, PTA, Parent newsletter), Attendance (Monitoring students attendance, monday morning groups, home visits, phone calls home), Academic connections (lunch group, IMPACT, classroom guidance, data reviews).

I also prepare Guidance lessons that are developmentally appropriate for pre-k thru 5 th grade.

Whew! So.... If you were ever wondering what a School Counselor does, hopefully, this is your answer!

I love this work and I love this community!

Cheers!