Lucy Schrader, HES Associate State Specialist and Building Strong Families Program Coordinator, University of Missouri Extension
“My daughter worries at bedtime every night…I always tell her I’ll be close by, but it doesn’t seem to help. What can I do?”
Some of this is normal worry. Children want to be reassured and they want to know they will be safe. Some need extra reassurance, and routines and traditions can help calm them. Some children, however, will not be calmed by your answers. It doesn’t matter how many times you reassure them or how many times you check on them, they still worry. Children who have these kinds of worries might struggle in other situations, too…
It’s easy for adults to say, “Don’t worry” or “Stop worrying so much.” Just saying these things, however, does not work. There are strategies that can help, and these strategies can give your child a way to gain control over the worries…
For the list of helpful strategies from Dr. Dawn Huebner’s What to Do When You Worry Too Much workbook, see the full version of this article at http://missourifamilies.org/features/parentingarticles/parenting103.htm
