Parents, teachers and care providers all strive to ensure that young children have safe, secure environments in which to grow, learn and develop healthy minds and bodies. They promote experiences that nurture and foster relationships that support self-esteem and self-confidence. Separation anxiety often occurs in young children and quickly passes with age and maturity. Unfortunately, some children develop deeper anxiety disorders and this affects their ability to develop healthy relationships, enjoy peer related activities, gain self-worth and build resilience. In addition to having serious consequences for social and family life, anxiety also affects children’s learning ability. Anxiety is an intrinsic response to an apparent or perceived
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Science indicates that early exposure to cir-cumstances that produce persistent fear and chronic anxiety in young children can have lifelong consequences by disturbing the developing synapses of the brain (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, (NSCDC), 2010).
Anxiety is a normal aspect of child development, most children experience some form of anxiety. These fears and anxieties are usually overcome relatively easily and quickly and the child learns to manage their fears and anxieties. For some children however, anxiety is more intense; it is estimated that eight to twenty-two per cent of children in Australia experience an intense form of anxiety (Kids Helpline, 2015).
Some children are predisposed to be anxious; it may be a genetic disposition or a learned behaviour. Children can also learn to think and behave in an anxious way by observing parents or other significant others in their lives, or experiencing traumatic and frightening experiences. Certain aspects in a child’s environment may also contribute to an increase in the child’s chances of becoming anxious; over protective parents, very busy lifestyle, limited time to play, lots of sporting or extra-curricular activities or little one on one time with …show more content…
Anxiety can affect a child’s ability to learn and impede their development (Kids Helpline, 2015).
As anxiety symptoms can often mimic the conditions of other disorders and behaviour tendencies, anxiety is often overlooked at as the major cause of behaviour or decline in academic achievement. It is important for teachers to seek out the source and reason for children who present as anxious or display symptoms of being disruptive or chronic shyness as the underlying cause may in fact be a form of anxiety (Beyondblue.org.au,. (2015).
2. Findings
Everybody experiences varying degrees of anxiety at some point in their lives and this is true for children too, especially when faced with unfamiliar, dangerous or stressful situations. Anxiety disorders are one of the most common types of mental health concerns for children and young people. If symptoms of anxiety have become entrenched and chronic, an anxiety disorder may develop with the risk of long-term impacts (Kids Helpline, 2015).
Signs of anxiety may present differently in children and adolescents than in adults. Common signs can include:
Excessive and persistent
Science indicates that early exposure to cir-cumstances that produce persistent fear and chronic anxiety in young children can have lifelong consequences by disturbing the developing synapses of the brain (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, (NSCDC), 2010).
Anxiety is a normal aspect of child development, most children experience some form of anxiety. These fears and anxieties are usually overcome relatively easily and quickly and the child learns to manage their fears and anxieties. For some children however, anxiety is more intense; it is estimated that eight to twenty-two per cent of children in Australia experience an intense form of anxiety (Kids Helpline, 2015).
Some children are predisposed to be anxious; it may be a genetic disposition or a learned behaviour. Children can also learn to think and behave in an anxious way by observing parents or other significant others in their lives, or experiencing traumatic and frightening experiences. Certain aspects in a child’s environment may also contribute to an increase in the child’s chances of becoming anxious; over protective parents, very busy lifestyle, limited time to play, lots of sporting or extra-curricular activities or little one on one time with …show more content…
Anxiety can affect a child’s ability to learn and impede their development (Kids Helpline, 2015).
As anxiety symptoms can often mimic the conditions of other disorders and behaviour tendencies, anxiety is often overlooked at as the major cause of behaviour or decline in academic achievement. It is important for teachers to seek out the source and reason for children who present as anxious or display symptoms of being disruptive or chronic shyness as the underlying cause may in fact be a form of anxiety (Beyondblue.org.au,. (2015).
2. Findings
Everybody experiences varying degrees of anxiety at some point in their lives and this is true for children too, especially when faced with unfamiliar, dangerous or stressful situations. Anxiety disorders are one of the most common types of mental health concerns for children and young people. If symptoms of anxiety have become entrenched and chronic, an anxiety disorder may develop with the risk of long-term impacts (Kids Helpline, 2015).
Signs of anxiety may present differently in children and adolescents than in adults. Common signs can include:
Excessive and persistent