Childhood Anxiety

What is childhood anxiety?

Childhood anxiety is a term that refers to a child’s suffering from unhealthy levels of fear and worry. Although some anxiety is normal as a child ages and develops, it can be concerning when their feelings affect their sleep, relationships, eating, or general mood. 

Childhood anxiety may affect very young children, adolescents, teens, or young adults. If left untreated, their anxiety may be significant enough to impair your child’s emotional, mental, physical, and developmental health.

The team at AAA Pediatrics specializes in the treatment of behavioral health concerns, like childhood anxiety and depression. Compassionate, comprehensive treatment can help avoid long-term complications of extreme anxiety, such as the increased risk for addiction, suicidal thoughts, learning difficulties, or self-destructive behaviors.

What causes childhood anxiety?

As your child ages, a variety of experiences may naturally cause worry or fear. For some children, these situations can lead to a more severe form of anxiety that may require specialized treatment.

Some causes for childhood anxiety include:

• Family changes, such as divorce or new baby
• New places or new friends
• Moving to a new house or city
• New experiences, such as starting school
• Witnessing traumatic events
• Death, injury, or illness of a loved one
• Bullying or abuse from other children or adults

Though difficult, many of these experiences are common for children, and most can adapt quite well with time and understanding. If you feel that your child’s worry or stress begins to impact their general health or personality, they may benefit from behavioral health support to help them navigate the cause of their anxiety.  

What are the symptoms of childhood anxiety? 

Symptoms that your child is anxious may not always look like you’d expect. Some signs of extreme childhood anxiety may seem like misbehavior or physical ailments, which is the reason that childhood anxiety is frequently overlooked, misunderstood, or misdiagnosed. 

Signs that your child has childhood anxiety may include: 

• Difficulty sleeping or staying asleep
• Frequent complaints of stomach aches
• Extreme anger or explosive outbursts
• Avoiding others, even friends
• Being clingy or afraid to leave parents
• Trouble focusing or being restless
• Being impulsive or oppositional
• Dangerous behaviors, such as self-harm or violence
• Extreme fear or phobias
   

The behavioral health experts at AAA Pediatrics use an integrated approach to the treatment of your child’s anxiety, which may involve behavioral therapy, stress management, medications, nutritional consultations, lifestyle changes, or family counseling. 

If your child has unhealthy levels of anxiety, call or book an appointment online for AAA Pediatrics today.