Chapter One

UNDERSTANDING CHILDREN'S FEARS AND WORRIES

From the children:

When I was little my mom worked the "graveyard shift" at the hospital. Every night I was so worried that meant she was going to die and I'd never see her again.

When people tell me to lighten up, that things aren't so bad, it makes me feel much worse. They must think I actually like being this way.

Views from parents:

It is very hard to see my daughter in pain and so scared. Before we got treatment, I felt there was nothing I could do to alleviate her pain. I felt so helpless, being the parent and not knowing what to do; that was the worst feeling.

Teachers think I'm nuts because my daughter is picture perfect at school. She's the model student-never a problem. But at home she totally falls apart, her anxiety is so intense, it makes normal life impossible for us. I wish they could see her at home so they would understand what I'm talking about.

Anxiety in Children: Too Much of a Good Thing?

"Don't run into the street, stop climbing on that, careful, that will break." These are words that most parents have to say over and over again, but that most parents of anxious children will probably never have to utter. In fact, parents may find themselves kept in check by their worrying child-"Did you lock the door? Is the gas tank full? Did you send in the permission slip?" Though it can often be confusing or frustrating to parents that their child must feel every wrinkle in the day and race ahead to prepare for every eventuality, we must understand that anxious kids are just doing what their brain tells them to do. Anxious children a