Recovery

Using recovery for reducing anxiety and feeling safe Recognize what you want to see: Feeling safe, calmly talking about emotions, acting brave. Use the skill: Use lots of PRIDE skills after your child does something brave. For example, “I’m so proud of the way you faced your fears!” Purpose:Children need recovery time after feeling anxious. […]

Hand-Over-Hand

Using hand-over-hand for reducing anxiety and feeling safe Recognize what you want to see: Feeling safe, calmly talking about feelings, acting brave. Use the skill: Imagine your child is afraid of dogs. You could hold your child, bend down, place their hand in yours, and help them pet the dog. Make sure the dog is […]

Effective Commands

Using effective commands for reducing anxiety and feeling safe Recognize what you want to see: Feeling safe, calmly talking about feelings, acting brave. Use the skill: This skill is generally not helpful for this goal. Try to avoid commands when your child is afraid. Purpose:When a child feels anxious, commands usually just make them feel […]

Consistent Consequences

Using consistent consequences for reducing anxiety and feeling safe Recognize what you want to see: Feeling safe, calmly talking about feelings, acting brave. Use the skill: Possible praise: “Thank you for telling me you’re scared.”  Possible negative consequence for refusal to do something important (like go to school): spend the day resting with no fun […]

Redoing

Using a redo for reducing anxiety and feeling safe Recognize what you want to see: Feeling safe, calmly talking about feelings, acting brave. Use the skill: You might say, “Try again. I can see you are worried. When you tell me what you need calmly, then we can talk about it.” Purpose:A redo can be […]

Modeling

Using modeling for reducing anxiety and feeling safe Recognize what you want to see: Feeling safe, calmly talking about feelings, acting brave. Use the skill: Talk about how you deal with anxiety. For example, “I really hate spiders. I feel brave, but I also need to take a few deep breaths to calm down. Feel […]

Rules

Using rules for reducing anxiety and feeling safe Recognize what you want to see: Feeling safe, calmly talking about feelings, acting brave. Use the skill: Use rules for behaviors. For example, “The rule is children must go to school unless they are sick. If you go to school today, then I have some fun games […]

Choices

Using choices for reducing anxiety and feeling safe Recognize what you want to see: Feeling safe, calmly talking about feelings, acting brave. Use the skill: Use choices to help your child manage anxiety. For example, “You’ve got two choices: you can hold my hand or we can walk in next to each other.” Or  “You […]

When-Then/If-Then

Using when-then & if-then statements for reducing anxiety and feeling safe Recognize what you want to see: Feeling safe, calmly talking about feelings, acting brave. Use the skill: Show your child the benefit of being brave. For example, “When the shot is over, we’ll get ice cream.” “When I pet this dog gently, it is […]

Strategic Attention

Using strategic attention for reducing anxiety and feeling safe Recognize what you want to see: Feeling safe, calmly talking about feelings, acting brave. Use the skill: Try to let your child feel whatever they feel. Reflect and stay quiet. Then praise talking about their feelings and any brave behaviors. Purpose:It is ok for children to […]