Parents. Your lives are busy and you have a million and one things on your plate. You have to juggle work, relationships, social life (lucky you!) and all the pressures of family life.
And then there are your kids.
However old they are, their world can sometimes seem pretty straightforward to us adults. They have school, friends, hobbies and family. How hard can that be?
But actually, growing up can be a pretty challenging minefield to navigate. And for many children today, worries that might once have felt like occasional childhood fears can become a much heavier burden.
The statistics around children's mental health can be alarming. The latest NHS England figures show that in 2023, around 1 in 5 children aged 8–16 in England had a probable mental disorder, rising to almost 1 in 4 among 17–19-year-olds. These difficulties can also have a very real impact on everyday life. Children with a probable mental disorder were around seven times more likely to have missed more than 15 days of school.
And behind those statistics are real children who may be struggling with worries, fears, sleep, friendships, school or simply the pressure of everyday life.
So, how can you help a child who seems to worry about everything?
First, understand that worry isn't necessarily the enemy.
As parents, our instinct is often to try to make the worry disappear.
"Don't worry."
"There's nothing to be scared of."
"You'll be fine."
And of course, we're saying these things because we care. We desperately want our children to feel better.
But sometimes, telling a child not to worry can unintentionally make them feel as though they're doing something wrong by feeling worried in the first place.
Worry is a normal human emotion.
Children need to learn that feeling worried doesn't mean that something bad is going to happen, and it doesn't mean that there's something wrong with them.
Instead of trying to eliminate every worry, we can help our children learn to recognise it, understand it and develop ways of responding to it.
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To receive my latest information sheet on 'How to help the child who worries about everything' with some specific pointers about what you can say to your child at home, please email at info@christyhypnotherapy.com and I will send you the full article.
If you'd like to find out more about how I work with children and young people, please get in touch by calling 07920 755660 for an informal conversation.
Christy Hypnotherapy
Supporting confidence, calm and positive change.