Anxiety and depression are becoming more and more prevalent in children, especially now that many of our social connections have become more distanced. Fortunately, there are evidence-based steps we can all take to not only help prevent and manage anxiety and other mental health concerns in our children, but help them develop strong and lasting emotional well-being. While this is especially important for parents who tend to be on the anxious side yourselves, which increases risk of anxiety in your children, this is also relevant to any parent to help you maximize your children’s mental health and resiliency. So if you’ve been concerned about mental health outcomes in your children, it’s good to know there’s a simple approach that can make a huge difference. It’s both remarkably simple yet takes a good deal of practice and mindfulness.

Here’s a great article from The Atlantic that does a fantastic good job describing the approach. It’s fascinating how well-meaning gestures that we do out of love and desire for our children’s wellbeing can potentially backfire in unintended ways. The pioneer of the S.P.A.C.E. approach that the article references, Eli Lebowitz, PhD, has written a book for parents titled “Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents” which as of the time of this post has not been released yet but is available for preorder here.

If you have any concerns about mental health in your child, such as anxiety, depression, or self esteem, it’s never too early to have an experienced coach help you navigate through it, whether through direct “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” for your child if they are motivated to work on it, or general family therapy with an expert who has experience with anxiety in children. We have resources from some good local options on our website here. You can also give our office a call to schedule an appointment with your pediatrician, we’re here to help!