Yamhill County, OR

Help Children with Worries
Worry and anxiety are common in disasters and
often show up in behaviors, such as avoiding separation, having trouble falling asleep, or expressing physical symptoms like tummy aches. One way to help your child to calm down is by teaching them a couple of very simple skills. Teach the following tools to your child when they are calm, and reward them for practicing them every day. You can do them together! When they become a habit, they can be a great tool for both you and your child to use.

Worry Thoughts: When children are worried, you may see them asking many questions or the same question over and over. This isn’t actually them seeking information, but is a way for the child to check in and get reassurance from you. If you find that your child is asking a lot of questions but doesn’t feel reassured, try this:
• Help your child identify when they are having
worry thoughts. These often start out as “but,
what if…”

• When you hear a worry question, turn it
around and ask your child to think about what
the answer might be to their question.

• Once you’ve answered a worry question, it’s
okay to put a limit on the questions.

Repeatedly asking and answering the same
question does not reduce a child’s anxiety.
Instead, try “Okay, you can have 3 worry
questions before lunch, so think about what
you want to ask. After that, no more worry
questions until dinner.” This helps the child to
push back against his or her worries and
develop some feeling of control over them.

• Explain to your child why this is important by
saying, “We want you to be the boss of your life
and not your worries. When you do brave acts
like playing in another room by yourself for a
little while, you are the boss of your life, not
your worries.”

• Build in some rewards for brave acts. This
helps your child learn how to face worries,
which is the best way to overcome them. Don’t
push, but do encourage. ... See MoreSee Less

27 minutes ago

Help Children with Worries
Worry and anxiety are common in disasters and
often show up in behaviors, such as avoiding separation, having trouble falling asleep, or expressing physical symptoms like tummy aches. One way to help your child to calm down is by teaching them a couple of very simple skills. Teach the following tools to your child when they are calm, and reward them for practicing them every day. You can do them together! When they become a habit, they can be a great tool for both you and your child to use.

Scrunches: Have the child lie down on their back. They should curl up and make all of their muscles scrunch up as tight as possible, like a pill bug or a roly-poly. Have them hold their scrunch for a slow
count to 3 and then relax. Do this a few times and then have your child check to make sure all their muscles are now loose and floppy. This is a great exercise to do right before bed. ... See MoreSee Less

16 hours ago