Parenting an Anxious Child: Don’t Just Survive—Learn to Thrive

Let’s be real, parenting an anxious child is tough. This episode is for you if you’re a parent who’s doing their best, feeling the pressure, and wondering how to help their child while staying afloat yourself. You’re not alone and trust us – you don’t have to simply survive this stage. In this episode, Lucy is joined by Chloe Tunnicliffe who has been there, lived it, learned from it. Chloe says she regularly listened to this episode from our Emetophobia Free podcast about how to help a child who’s panicking, but on reflection she also wanted some advice for herself and how best to look after her own mental health. So, here it is! Four key things that you can do as the parent or carer that will shift you from surviving to thriving through this challenging time: Go through The Thrive Programme yourself – when you feel powerful and able to manage how you think and feel about things, it’s much easier for you to remain calm and in control, even (especially!) when your child is not. Let’s talk pressure – pressure on you to fix things, pressure to be the perfect parent, pressure from school, work, other family members, friends and family, pressure your child is putting on themselves. It can feel a lot, but it isn’t happening ‘to’ you – it’s created by you, which means you can reduce it. Process things helpfully – learn the skills to process your experiences and help your child to view their experiences in a helpful, powerful way. This is HUGE. It’ll make you feel better, it’ll give you a better perspective, it’ll help your child to be able to focus on the good things, the learning, the opportunities rather than dwelling on the negatives. Dealing with ‘blips’ – how to handle yourself when your child is panicking or having a wobble. Learn how to hold steady when they’re struggling, without getting swept up in it. This episode is here to remind you that parenting can be hard, but you can do hard things. And if you adopt the skills and tips discussed here, you’ll find navigating this tricky time much easier. You got this! And as always, if you could do with a helping hand, please reach out to us – we’re here to help. ------------------------ The Thrive Programme® is mental health training that teaches people the skills and resources to overcome mental health issues and learn to thrive. Thriving people have a skill-set that makes them more robust, resilient, and confident… they feel powerful and more in control of their lives… they are less prone to stress, anxiety or depression and they generally live longer and happier. Thriving people find it easier to resist social pressures, take more responsibility for their physical and mental health and live a more positive and active life. The programme is evidence-based, fun to learn, and – much like riding a bike – once you’ve learned to do it, you’ll always have the skills. It’s very easy to follow, usually takes – on average – just six weeks to complete, and is accessible to all people of all ages. You can study the programme at home by yourself with one of our manuals (currently being translated into a number of other languages, as well as a version for the Visually Impaired), be guided through it with a specially-trained Thrive Programme Coach® (either face to face or online), or by attending one of our events or bootcamps. Either way, the results are predictable, quantifiable and long-lasting.You can read hundreds of written testimonials, find out more about our Programme, get lots of help for working through the book and even find a Thrive Programme Coach® to give you that extra insight, at our website: www.thriveprogramme.org You can also follow our social media accounts at the links below; Facebook:   / thriveprogramme   Twitter: @thriveprogramme