How to Recognise Signs of Anxiety in Your Child: Gheorg's Complete Guide for Recognising Signs of Anxiety in Kids

Recognising signs of anxiety in children can be harder than parents think. It’s normal for kids to experience a full range of emotions. This can be on a daily basis, and in every stage of development. A calm child is not necessarily an emotionally resilient child.

So as parents, how can you separate the norms of childhood from a child experiencing anxiety?

Thankfully, our founder and childhood psychology expert, Dr Louise Metcalf is here to help. She has put together the most telltale signs and symptoms of a child with anxiety that parents can assess. Read on below.

Physical Problems

Anxiety in kids shows physical signs and symptoms

Anxiety affects more than just a child's mind. There are also physical symptoms parents and teachers can look out for. The causes of anxiety in children can be difficult to pin down. However, experts confirm there are strong ties to physiological factors.It may take time to unravel what is going on in your child’s mind. So below are some key physical symptoms you can keep an eye out for too.

Physical symptoms can include:

• Headaches

• Upset stomach

• Sweating

• Dry mouth

• Stiff legs

• Heart pounding

• Clenched fists

• Clenched jaw

Any one of the above symptoms may not indicate anxiety in and of itself. However, when looking at the bigger picture a pattern may emerge.

Parents should monitor for:

• Frequency of symptoms (daily, weekly or monthly)

• Number of symptoms (at any given time, and overall)

• Appropriateness of symptom (in the situation)

Some of the most common that parents find themselves dealing with? Sweating, headaches and upset stomachs.

Rogue Routines

Variations in a child’s routine may indicate anxiety

Children can be messy, spontaneous little people. They can be full of surprises, leaving parents never knowing exactly what to expect next!However, parents can usually rely on the warrior cry of “I’m hungryyyy” at least once a day. And usually have to be the one to say “right, time for bed”, when little eyes can barely stay open.

Adequate diet and adequate sleep are two of the key factors in managing any person’s health. It’s no different for our little ones.Y

ou know your child best. So whether their bedtime is 6pm or 8pm, you will know when their sleep schedule is out of sync. And whether they eat just a banana for breakfast or a big bowl of cereal, you will know when their usual appetite has decreased (or increased!).

Sleep questions to consider for your child:

• Have they had nightmares or bed wetting?

• Are they afraid to sleep alone?

• Do they always beg to stay up past their bedtime?

• Do they have trouble getting up in the morning?

Eating questions to consider for your child:

• Have they become a lot more picky?

• Are they complaining of stomach aches?

• Are they significantly more or less interested in food?

• Are they overly fixated on unhealthy snacks and treats?

Are you preparing to take your child for a professional anxiety assessment? If so, notes on dates, times and descriptions of disturbances in your child’s routine can be helpful for the practitioner. Understanding whether changes are mild or substantial can be key to their assessment.

Supporting sleep hygiene and a good daily routine is important to maintain happy, healthy kids. One strategy to achieve this is implementing zones and rituals at home. This can help your child maintain healthy boundaries between technology, resting, indoor time and snacking.

Mammoth Moods

Child anxiety can look like unpredictable and disproportionate moods

Temper tantrums and crying meltdowns are normal for kids. They are still learning to understand and manage their emotions. However, when things get in the extremes - and often - this can be an indication of something more concerning. Professional assessments will be looking at things like how extreme the moods are, how often they happen, and how applicable the triggers are.

Child anxiety can look like:

• Quick to get upset

• Unexplained crying

• Unreasonably irritated

We highly recommend that parents “get down to kids’ level” and try to see the situation from a child’s eyes. This can help to gauge whether your child’s behaviour is ‘normal kid stuff’, or a sign of anxiety.

Parents can ask themselves:

• Would most kids this age react like that?

• Is an extreme reaction rare, or regular?

• Is there an obvious stressor triggering this?

Thankfully, there is so much we as parents can do to nurture emotional resilience in our kids. You can use simple (but effective!) strategies to help your child manage their emotions.

The Georg app has been designed for anxious children to use. It helps kids better understand how they feel, with mindfulness activities to navigate big feelings. 

We share many other tips over on our blog, including these simple phrases and ‘zen’ exercises.

Bashful Behaviour

Anxiety erodes children’s self-esteem and confidence

Part of a child’s development includes learning to manage stress. Parents can support this by nurturing a healthy mindset in kids.

However, before a child has a chance to build up these skills, they may be showing signs of anxiety.

Fear-based anxiety can look like:

• Perfectionism 

• Need for assurance

• Excess worrying 

• Desire to control events and people 

• Over-planning 

• Intolerance of uncertainty  

• Overly shy or antisocial

• Avoiding people, situations and conversations

• More clingy

Many of these symptoms can often be ‘explained away’ by parents - especially clinginess

However, like most symptoms of anxiety in children, it is about frequency and extremity. If you can recognise multiple of the above behaviours in your child, we highly recommend seeking a professional assessment for childhood anxiety.

All parents can enable their child to cope with irrational fears by equipping them with the ‘tools’ to thrive - including a ‘growth mindset’!

Feeling Fidgety

Fidgeting and difficulty concentrating can indicate anxiety

Every kid is unique, and some are simply more active than others! Some kids are also daydreamers, getting ‘lost in their own world’ at times.

However, if a child’s inattention or restlessness is getting in the way of important activities, there may be more going on.

Parents can look for these signs:

• Restlessness

• Difficulty staying seated

• Fidgeting with clothing, fingers or objects

• Difficulty concentrating

• Excessive daydreaming

• Trouble with reading or homework

• Biting nails or picking skin/hair

If your child is showing clear and frequent signs with any of the above, we highly recommend seeking a professional assessment. This can determine whether it is anxiety or another cause.

For naturally active little ones, we recommend things like fidget spinners and weighted blankets, or try this excellent sensory bottle craft activity.

School Signals

Teachers gain valuable information in the classroom

Once our kids are at school full time, they are with their peers and teacher almost as much as with us!

This means that teachers see a lot of our child’s behaviour play out. They have a unique insight to how kids react in groups and social situations.

Via feedback from schools and teachers, we gain a broader spectrum of information about our child’s behaviour.

Concerns raised by the school can be some of the first signs for parents to look deeper.

Important school feedback includes:

• Irregular eating habits

• Upset by change

• Social anxiety
  

If you are a teacher, we recommend our blog of student anxiety signs teachers can look out for. We also have some great tips for teachers to better support students' navigation of anxious feelings.

Next steps after recognising signs of anxiety in your child

We hope both parents and teachers now feel better equipped to recognise signs of anxiety in children.

While the causes of anxiety in children can be difficult to understand, it does help to broaden our understanding of the 7 types of anxiety.

It can also be helpful for adults to educate themselves on how to talk about and explain anxiety to kids.

Overall, if any of the symptoms in this blog have set bells ringing, we highly recommend seeking a child psychologist for a professional assessment. They are the experts in treating anxiety in children, and can help your little one make important progress.

Feel free to read our further resources on the science and therapies used to support children experiencing anxiety. The Gheorg app incorporates these modalities, and is great for any child to develop emotional resilience, confidence and self-esteem.