Calming Your Anxious Child: Words to Say and Things to Do

Practical, effective steps for parents to take as they help their child overcome anxiety.

Ten million children in the United States—two million of them preschoolers—suffer from anxiety. Anxious children may be afraid to be out of their parents’ sight; they may refuse to talk except to specific people or under specific circumstances; they may insist on performing tasks such as brushing teeth or getting ready for bed in a rigidly specific way. For many children these difficulties interfere wit...