Behavior Management

What is my Parental Role with my Anxious Toddler?

It has been several months since our youngest of two, Delise got the diagnosis of severe anxiety. She is just two years old. Understanding how anxiety can be present in a toddler was mind boggling…and still is. What worries could she possibly have? I decided to dig deeper into her diagnosis and get a better understanding of what she was going through.

Having a child with anxiety feels very lonely. On the surface, everything seems alright. Teachers rave about them. Friends adore them. Relatives and family friends might not see what all the fuss is about. But what people don’t see is the daily struggle in the home. The fear that paralyzes them at night. The worries that consume their young mind and prompt them to feel nauseous, nervous and overwhelmed. Every day feels like a battle. A battle Delise doesn’t always win. I have discovered how to empower her by adjusting my parental role.

By Mary Bockert, ago

My Child Has Anxiety…Now What?

As Ben and I have learned the secret that drives our sweet 2 year olds behavior, we have taken a proactive look into how we can best help her cope. Diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder just 3 short weeks ago, we have been on a whirlwind of emotions. Once the initial shock of it all had disapated a bit, I could truly focus on the issues at hand…What is severe anxiety disorder in children? How do we best help Delise overcome her anxiety? What might her anxiety look like at different stages of her life? How did this happen? With all of these questions, I turned to the professionals and sought out answers.

By Mary Bockert, ago

What to do When Your Child Suffers From Anxiety

Ben and I went to Delise’s doctor yesterday to get a good handle on what is going on with our sweet 2 year old. She has been demonstrating a lot of aggression and her temper tantrums are almost too much to bear. We knew something wasn’t right so my husband and I took her to a developmental pediatrician and she underwent a series of tests and we underwent a booklet of questions that never seemed to end. In the end, we discovered that our child has severe anxiety. Honestly it was a HUGE sigh of relief. It sounds cruel to say something like that but when the terms autism, sensory processing disorder and ADHD are thrown at you, you start to get anxious yourself. Now we know and can move forward. I started doing my homework and this is what I came up with to help her get through the tough times.

By Mary Bockert, ago

OCD in Toddlers…yep…I said it!

“Wait, Momma! Put here!”

Those words I hear all too frequently from my now 2 year old as she meticulously places her animals, blocks, books, you name it in its proper place. At first I was excited to have such a “clean” kid who had a spot for EVERYTHING! Before we would leave a room, it needed to be set up JUST right, before going to bed, we needed to go through JUST the right routine, while reading books, we needed to stack them JUST right, yada, yada, yada…you get the point.

By Mary Bockert, ago