Phrases to use with an anxious child

1. GO AWAY, WORRY!

Teaching your child how to talk back to their worries is a great anxiety strategy. They can come up with their own variation of this phrase or even name their worry so they can address it directly. Naming your child's worry monster is a great way to show them that it is separate from them. And by talking back to that worry monster or bully, kids learn that they are in control and that their anxiety is not.

2. MY WORRY WON'T LAST FOREVER.

This phrase reminds your child that worrying is simply a feeling that will pass eventually. Just like your child feels happy, sad, or angry, those emotions don't last forever either. An alternative phrase to use would be...

3. THIS FEELING WILL PASS.

Same as the above phrase.

4. I AM GOING TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH.

A phrase like this one reminds your child to relax and use a coping strategy to help them regulate their bodies. Be sure to teach your child how to do deep breathing so they can implement those techniques after they say this phrase.

5. I'M WORRIED/SCARED ABOUT __________ BECAUSE           .

Not only does a phrase like this help your child name their emotions, but it will hopefully help you and your child figure out what the root cause of their anxious thoughts might be. It also encourages your child to dig deeper into what's really going on. This phrase might be one of the most difficult on this list for your child to use, but trust me, when they can, it's so helpful!

6. THE LIKELIHOOD OF             HAPPENING IS LOW OR UNLIKELY.

This phrase is all about using logic to shrink your child's worries. Sure your child might be worried that a tornado might hit, but reminding themselves about the low probability of a tornado actually happening can be quite freeing.

7. I NEED           .

They might fill in this blank with a request for help directly or they might specifically tell you exactly what they need right now at this moment. Maybe they need a hug. Or maybe they need to check the weather forecast. Whatever it is they need, hopefully you can teach them to verbalize it. This phrase also teaches them to reset their system and help them learn to regulate, two important strategies for managing worries.

8. THIS IS HARD.

This phrase simply helps your child acknowledge that managing their anxiety is, indeed, hard work. Your child should pair this phrase with the one below.

9. I CAN HANDLE THIS AND I CAN DO HARD THINGS.

Here's another phrase that uses logic to tackle those worrying thoughts. It can be used to remind your child about past successes. Children overcome hard things daily. Remind them of that.

10. MY PARENTS/TEACHER/FRIEND IS HERE TO HELP ME.

A phrase like this reminds your child that they don't have to do this alone. It reminds them that it's perfectly okay to ask for help and that there are people available to support them.