Raising Good Humans S2 Ep 36: Anxiety may be as contagious as Omicron: Helping Our Kids When We Have Our Own Anxiety to Reckon With
Jan 7, 2022
Dr. Harold Koplewicz, a leading child and adolescent psychiatrist, shares insights on managing children's anxiety, especially heightened during COVID. He discusses how parental anxiety can affect kids and emphasizes the importance of modeling bravery. Koplewicz advocates for resilience-building through allowing children to fail and developing clear family plans to ease uncertainty. He also highlights the need for effective mental health communication and practical tools for parents, ensuring they have strategies for nurturing their child's emotional wellbeing.
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Parental Anxiety Shapes Kids' Risk
- Parental anxiety is contagious and amplifies children's risk of anxiety through both genes and modeling.
- Managing caregiver anxiety is essential because nurture can add to the 35% heritable risk mentioned by Harold Koplewicz.
Model Intellect Over Emotion
- Practice 'intellect over emotion' by naming worries, applying risk management, and modeling calm decision-making.
- Prioritize self-care: sleep seven hours, eat well, exercise 20 minutes, and use mindfulness to be the stable scaffold for your child.
Let Kids Fail To Build Resilience
- Resist rescuing children from normal failures and allow age-appropriate setbacks to build resilience.
- Use structured support with empathy but avoid over-sympathizing or over-cheerleading to encourage independence.