12 Kid Friendly Strategies to Calm Anxiety at Night from a Child Therapist

12 Kid Friendly Strategies to Calm Anxiety at Night from a Child Therapist

Inside: 12 proven strategies to help your child's anxiety and help them settle in for a long night’s sleep

You're finally settling onto your couch, remote in hand and ready to start binge watching your latest Netflix obsession. You're just about to press play when you hear tiny feet padding down the hall.

“Mommy? I can't sleep. I'm scared!!”

5 Common Reasons Kids Get Stressed and 4 Strategies to Help

5 Common Reasons Kids Get Stressed and 4 Strategies to Help

Inside: 5 common causes of childhood stress, and 4 strategies you can use as a parent to help your child manage stress in healthy ways.

This story starts, as always, with coffee. I was in line at Dunkin Donuts, thinking about what I wanted to get done today. We were on the beach for a long weekend, but being the type A person that I am, somehow I still wanted to get some things accomplished and starting to feel a bit stressed about it. As I’m waiting for my precious beverage and mentally rearranging my to do list, I overhear a father ask his son:

Why is My Kindergartener So Angry? And What Can I Do?

Why is My Kindergartener So Angry? And What Can I Do?

Inside: Some ideas why kindergarteners might be so angry, 4 questions to ask yourself to get a better idea of what's going on, and 5 suggestions of things to try that will help.

It was happening again. Your son came off the bus and he was fuming. His face was red and his eyebrows were furrowed. His whole body was full of anger. Almost immediately, he began hitting and kicking at you. You and your husband look at each other, bewildered. What happened?!?

Book Review: Anxiety Sucks! A Teen Survival Guide

Book Review: Anxiety Sucks! A Teen Survival Guide

I’m always on the lookout for great books for kids and teens. Recently, I’ve been investigating good books to help explain and conquer anxiety. I came across the new book Anxiety Sucks! A Teen Survival Guide by Natasha Daniels and loved it!

This is a great book for teens to help them understand the underlying causes of their anxiety and work on practical steps they can take to conquer it. Here are some of my highlights:

5 Tips to Ease Separation Anxiety When a Parent Travels

5 Tips to Ease Separation Anxiety When a Parent Travels

It’s Tuesday during your weekly meeting with your boss. Your boss tells you that you’ll be leaving for a trip in a couple of weeks to meet with an important client. Your stomach clenches, but it’s not about the client. It’s about your son. He gets so anxious when you go away. It’s heartbreaking to hear him so upset on the phone. And you don’t know what to do because you need to go, but he has such a hard time.

One of the best coping techniques for anxiety - make a coping skills toolbox!

One of the best coping techniques for anxiety - make a coping skills toolbox!

Inside: A step by step guide for creating a coping skills toolbox for your child. This is an effective way to help kids utilize coping techniques for anxiety.

It’s Friday morning, and your daughter, like clockwork, comes down to breakfast and says “I’m not hungry at all. I can’t take my mind off my math test. I’m worried I’m going to fail and then I’ll fail the whole year and never pass 4th grade!” She puts her head down on the kitchen table and starts to cry.

Coping Skills Spotlight: Homemade Lava Lamp

Coping Skills Spotlight: Homemade Lava Lamp

A lava lamp can be mesmerizing to watch. When you watch something like that, it can help you relax and slow yourself down. It could be a great thing to do when you are about to study for a long time, sit and do homework or about to do some reading.

How to Create a Calm Down Spot

How to Create a Calm Down Spot

“ARGH!” Eddie, your 6 year old, yells in frustration for the third time in 30 minutes.

Maybe he didn't get enough sleep last night. Maybe his allergies are acting up and he's more on edge. Maybe it's the middle of school vacation week and he's irritated with his sister. Or maybe it's all three. Whatever the reason, he needs to calm down. What can you do to help your son? You can create a calm down spot in your own home.

Coping Skill Spotlight: 5 4 3 2 1 Grounding Technique

Coping Skill Spotlight: 5 4 3 2 1 Grounding Technique

This technique will take you through your five senses to help remind you of the present. This is a calming technique that can help you get through tough or stressful situations. Take a deep belly breath to begin.

Copyright © Coping Skills for Kids, part of Encourage Play, LLC 2021