Kids and Worry
Kids and worry… This is something that I have encountered quite of bit in our years of parenting. Nothing breaks my heart more than having a kiddo experiencing anxiety! I just want to take it all away from them and assure them that it will all be okay. However, we can´t guarantee that, can we? So, what can we do?
Before we go any further, let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Kaycee Hobbs. My husband and I have adopted seven children. Our oldest child is sixteen and our youngest is three. We homeschool them all and have since the beginning.
Anxiety in a child is very real and when I see them worried about something, I want to share their load. Let me share with you 3 tips I follow for handling anxiety in a child:
1. Listen to them
2. Comfort them
3. Direct them to God
Listen to Them
No matter how silly their worries are, I want to listen to my kiddos. I know from my own life that fear has a tendency to take over and my mind can go crazy with all kinds of different scenarios. Some of those scenarios are ridiculous and I know that. When this happens to me, it really helps to talk to my husband or a close friend. Just simply sharing what is on my heart and know they are listening makes me feel better.
Comfort Them
Every child likes to be comforted differently but I love to wrap my arms around them and give them a hug. I want them to know that I am near and sometimes a hug speaks more to them than anything I could say. However, some kids don´t like to be hugged and so I will just sit near them and hold their hand or gently rub their back. The whole point is for them to know they are not alone and that I care about them.
Direct Them to God
My pastor once told me that the hardest thing for a person to do is to trust God. I know this to be true from my own personal experience. Trusting God is something I must intentionally choose to do every single day.
I want to teach my children how to do this too. How do we do that? When you want to make a believer out of someone, what do you do? You show them the results!
When my child is experiencing worry, I pray with them about it. However, we don´t just pray about their concerns, we keep track of our prayers in a prayer journal. When it is answered, we will record the results in our journal and thank God for His intervention.
I have been doing this for years! Not too long ago, I came across my prayer journals from about seventeen years ago. In the journal, I asked God for a child. It was such a heartfelt prayer! As I read, I just sat there and cried because of the way that God answered my prayer. Not only did He bless us with one child, but He gave us seven!
What did reading my prayer journal do for me? It increased my faith because I saw what God has done in my own life. When I face my next challenge, I can remember what God has done and know He hears and answers my prayer.
Having a prayer journal offers the perfect way to keep track of the ways that God answers those prayers. When your child keeps their own, it gives them the perfect opportunity for their faith to increase as they see firsthand what God can do in their lives.
Would you like to start a prayer journal today? You can download a FREE Prayer Journal here:
I can´t wait to hear how God uses this to increase your child´s faith!
