Children are more observant and empathic than we often give them credit for. Your anxieties are their anxieties. Care for yourself to care for them.
Every parent has a part of their emotional world that they don’t want their children to see, and I am delighted that you know that yours is your anxiety. Every parent will impact their child in an unhelpful way. While this is part of life, all parents have this excellent opportunity to reduce this impact.
Awareness is step one and an essential part of the change. So let’s take this awareness a step further – in what ways do you think your anxiety could/is impacting your child?
Is it:
How you think about them? (children pick up on this)
How you are interacting, your words or behaviours?
Are you stopping them from doing things because of your fear?
To remedy this, the most important thing you can do as a parent is beginning to understand your anxiety and do your very best not to let it run the show. You must put yourself as number one in your life because when you do this, you are taking time to nurture all parts of yourself and do your best to create a balanced life.
Do you know what feeds your anxiety? Do you know what your anxiety needs to be kept at bay? Slowing down life is always helpful. Take time to look after yourself, eat well, rest and be in relationships that nurture you. Notice when you’re feeling out of balance and enhance your skills for returning to a place that feels good.
In summary, the best way for your child not to pick up on your anxiety is to create a safe container for your anxiety internally. Your anxiety is just one part of you. I know it might feel like a vast and overbearing part, but when you nurture the other helpful parts of you, anxiety tends not to run the show and take over.
If anything in this blog resonates with you and you’d like support to create change, you’re welcome to book a free call with Bethan here to explore your support options. Make sure you download your free 5 Steps to Calmer Parenting to help develop new coping skills for dealing with what’s hard and if you’re looking for immediate parenting support, you can start your free 7 day trial in the Calm Parenting Club, my online parenting community.
