Condition : Anxiety in children

Condition Anxiety in children

What is anxiety in children?

Feeling worried during big changes, such as starting school or nursery, is normal, but if your child or young person’s behaviour is being impacted every day by feelings of nervousness, concern, or unease, then they may have an anxiety disorder and need support from a professional.

Young children don’t always understand their feelings, or find it difficult to express them, so if they’re anxious, they may:

become irritable, tearful, or clingy
have difficulty sleeping
wake in the night
start wetting the bed
have bad dreams
often have stomach aches or headaches

Older children may:

lack confidence to try new things or seem unable to face simple, everyday challenges
find it hard to concentrate
have problems with sleeping or eating
have angry outbursts
have a lot of negative thoughts, or keep thinking that bad things are going to happen
start avoiding everyday activities, such as seeing friends, going out in public or going to school

Anxiety in adults

If you are looking for help with anxiety in adults then please visit our other page about the condition:

Anxiety

What causes anxiety in children?

Anxiety can be caused by big changes, traumatic experiences, conflict at home, or pressures about schoolwork and relationships with their peers.

Separation anxiety is common in young children up to the age of three because they don’t yet understand that people and things exist even when they can't see them. They will usually grow out of it.

Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is common in teenagers and involves feeling overly worried before, during, and after a social situation. It’s more than shyness. It impacts self-confidence, relationships, and school life because they will avoid people or activities, find it difficult to do things while being watched, or have physical symptoms.

If your child or young person has social anxiety, you should get them to see a GP and access treatment and support.

Next steps

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