When to worry about their worries

STRESS and worry are a normal part of life for children, and are to be expected at times like a global pandemic. But for some kids reasonable concerns — whether coronavirus related or not — can tip over into something more serious.

Anxiety becomes a problem when it starts to impact on a young person’s life, changes their behaviour and stops their normal engagement with friends, family and school.

It helps for parents to be able to spot the warning signs, according to GP and lead clinical adviser at Beyond Blue, Dr Grant Blashki.

“We don’t want to medicalise everyday worries. Not everybody has an anxiety condition,” Dr Blashki said. “A lot of the worry at the moment is understandable, appropriate and not a medical problem.

“But there’s a significant number of kids who have escalating symptoms that raise a red flag.”

He said recognising and addressing anxiety early in children was important, with research showing 50 per cent of adult mental health conditions started by age 14.

Dr Blashki said the warning signs varied depending on a child’s age.

In kids aged under 8, separation anxiety and tantrums were common, and children might not be interested in playing or talking with friends.

“There can be a lot of stress with any changes or transitions and they can be very clingy,” Dr Blashki said.

In primary school kids aged 8 and above, the need for a lot of reassurance could be a sign of anxiety. “If they are at school, there might be lots of visits to the sick bay, they might have difficulty joining in and sometimes there’s perfectionism. They might want to control things and for things to be just perfect,” Dr Blashki said.

“Challenging behaviours, such as being uncharacteristically naughty, not co-operating or getting more agro in a way they wouldn’t usually can also be red flags.”

Teenagers suffering anxiety could become withdrawn and sensitive to criticism. Perfectionism and trying to control situations might also feature in this age group, along with a fear of failure, missing classes and negative thinking.

“There’s doomsday thinking — this is the end of the world, we’re never going to get out of this — and it is often supercharged by the whirlpool of social media,” Dr Blashki said.

He said there was no one box that should be ticked or test that could be taken to confirm an anxiety condition — only warning signs.

“Have a look at how it’s influencing their day-to-day

functioning,” Dr Blashki urged. “Is it interfering with their friends and their school work and their functioning at home? Is it on a trajectory that’s getting worse?”

He said alarm bells should also ring if signs of anxiety persisted for more than two weeks.