Dictionary For Dads

Anxiety Is defined as "apprehension without apparent cause." It usually occurs when there's no immediate threat to a persons safety or well being but the threat feels real.

Everyone, from the youngest child to the oldest adult, experiences anxieties and fears at one time or another. Feeling anxious or afraid never feels very good. However, with kids, such feelings are not only normal, they are necessary. Experiencing and dealing with anxieties can prepare young people to handle the unsettling experiences and challenging situations of life. How they are taught to deal with these emotions can be paramount in preventing other disorders such as drug and alcohol abuse and over eating.

Anxiety makes a person want to escape the situation - fast. The heart beats quickly, the body might begin to perspire, and "butterflies" in the stomach soon follow. However, a little bit of anxiety can actually help people stay alert and focused
Having fears or anxieties about certain things can also be helpful because it makes kids behave in a safe way. For example, a kid with a fear of fire would avoid playing with the stove.

• Babies experience stranger anxiety, clinging to daddies when introduced to people they don't recognize.
• Toddlers around 10 to 18 months experience separation anxiety, becoming emotionally distressed when one or both parents leave.
• Children ages 4 through 6 have anxiety about things that aren't based in reality such as fears of monsters and ghosts.
• Kids ages 7 through 12 often have fears that reflect real circumstances that may happen to them, such as bodily injury and natural disaster.

Separation anxiety is common when young children are starting school. Remember daddy you have provided food, shelter, safety and guidance up to this point. The child needs to learn to trust other environments outside of the family in order to develop.

Most of the time dads can tell when their child is feeling excessively uneasy about something. Lending a sympathetic ear is always helpful, and sometimes just talking about the fear can help the child move beyond it. Below are some symptoms of anxiety.

• Becoming clingy, impulsive or distracted.
• Nervous movements, such as temporary twitches.
• Problems getting to sleep and/or staying asleep longer than usual.
• Sweaty hands.
• Accelerated heart rate and breathing.
• Nausea.
• Headaches.
• Stomachaches. 

 Recognize that the fear is real:                                                           As trivial as a fear may seem, it feels real to your child and it's causing him or her to feel anxious and afraid.

Talk About Feelings:
Being able to talk about fears helps words often take some of the power out of the negative feeling. If you talk about it, it can become less powerful.

 
Never Minimize The Fear:                                                                  Telling your child, "Don't be ridiculous! There are no monsters in the basement!" may get your child to go downstairs, but it won't make the fear go away. Feelings are not facts but they are true to the child who is experiencing them.

                                                              
Don't cater to fears:
If your child doesn't like dogs, don't cross the street deliberately to avoid one. This will just reinforce that dogs should be feared and avoided. Provide support and gentle care as you approach the feared object or situation with your child.

Teach your child how to rate fear:
If your child can visualize the intensity of the fear on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the strongest, he or she may be able to "see" the fear as less intense than first imagined. Younger children can think about how "full of fear" they are, with being full "up to my knees" as not so scared, "up to my stomach" as more frightened, and "up to my head" as truly petrified.

                                              
Teach coping strategies:                                                                                     Using you as "home base," the child can venture out toward the feared object and then return to you for safety before venturing out again. The child can also learn some positive self-statements, such as "I can do this" and "I will be OK," which your child can say to himself or herself when feeling anxious.

Relaxation techniques: These tecniques are helpful as well, they include helping the child visualize floating on a raft or lying on their bed, while doing deep breathing exercisesThey can imagine filling there whole stomach up with air and slowely exhaling. These are also helpful when fealing with tantrums.