Anxiety is becoming more common in children; the CDC estimates that 25% of teens are treated for an anxiety disorder. Children and teens who do not experience clinical levels of anxiety also have worries and fears that, if unaddressed, could lead to the development of mood disorders as an adult.

So, what do we do to help our worried or anxious child? How can we help them respond skillfully to stress and develop resilience? This series of blog posts on Helping Children Manage Their Worries and Fears addresses these questions.

Part 4 – The Chill Drill

Feeling anxious or worried can leave us feeling out of control emotionally. And feeling emotionally out of control feeds anxiety and worries. This pattern of negative thoughts and feelings can lead to negative behavior. We run a risk of inadvertently punishing children for anxiety when their worries and fear are expressed as negative behaviors, so teaching them to recognize physical clues that they are feeling stress (such as clenched jaw or fist) and providing them with skills to decompress in healthy ways (such as deep breathing or taking a break) is important.

The Chill Drill is a great way to help kids break the cycle of negative thoughts, feelings and behaviors that often results from this anxious mindset! It includes a mindfulness component and cognitive behavioral problem solving skills, plus it’s easy to memorize. I encourage parents to teach and then practice this with their kids. Clap along with your child, while you say “Chill, blow, face, space!” together, and they will have an easy time recalling this skill set. Remember that children can prompt their parents to reign in their temper using the Chill Drill sometimes too!

Here is a great teaching graphic for the Chill Drill!