General Anxiety Disorders In Children

The manifestation and effects of GAD in children can be very harmful. Therefore, adults need to be alert to catch the problem as early as possible. Five major warning signs are as follows:

1. Children show extra concern about future - you will find that the children are too much worried about the "what ifs" of the future. Often the situation that they conjure would be ridiculously hypothetical, yet they would be worrying about it in all earnest. Do not ignore what they say or how important such things seem to them or they would stop sharing their thoughts with you. Rather, redirect their negative thoughts into positive ones with adequate subtlety.

2. Excessive fear of mistakes - is your child overly worried about making mistakes at school or favorite games? Is that fear interfering with their overall behavior and performance at school? Gently show them that perfection is not always an achievable goal. Do not allow them to indulge is excessive self-criticism, nor negative self-labeling. Help them understand the "you loose some and you win some" concept; it is all part of the game. Show them that as long as they did their best, they should not worry too much about the results.

3. Blaming themselves - some children have a terrible knack of drawing the blame of any type of problem that happens at home, on to them. This is particularly true when parents quarrel loudly in front of the children; or there is talk about divorce and/ or separation. Try to keep arguments out of the hearing range of children. In case you do find them blaming themselves for the animosity between you and your partner, try to explain to them that adults have sometimes adjustment problems, which are solely rooted in their perspective of life and basic values. Assure them that come what may, they would always be loved and cherished by both parents.

4. Anticipating the worst in every situation - watch out for signs of overreaction to problems and obstacles they encounter. If every time they have a problem they tend to anticipate the very worst to happen and become sick with panic, this is an indication of GAD. Ensure that they know what to do in case of the worst possible scenarios; reassure them that whatever happens, there is always a way out.

5. Low self-confidence needs constant reassurance - if the child is constantly appealing to you for reassurance and does not do anything on his or her own without your express approval or advice, he or she is very much likely to be suffering from GAD. Encourage your child to take his or her own decisions and offer effusive praise when the child does so. Enhance the child"s self-esteem through continuous positive reinforcement. Teach the child to respect and appreciate his or her own uniqueness.

by: Ian Spencer

Internet Safety for Kids: 10 Guidelines to Help You Protect Your Children Online

Many kids these days are technically savvy, and their abilities on a keyboard often develop more quickly than their ability to recognize a potential threat. A young person's innocence and natural sense of trust can put her into dangerous situations, especially online, where everyone is virtually anonymous. Here are ten tips to help you protect your kids when they are using the internet: 1. Install a filter or firewall so that your child can't access potentially harmful sites. It's easy to find filters that are low-cost and even free. Start your search on CNet, which catalogs a number of filters with a variety of features for a child's different ages and stages. 2. Don't leave your kids alone in front of the computer. Allow them to use the Internet only in a common area of your home, where you can see the sites that they are visiting and the types of activities that they are engaged in. While it's important to have a filter on your computer so your child doesn't stumble onto the wrong websites, it's also important to not rely on that filter 100 percent. Some filters don't always block everything, and your child may even have the technical savvy to work around it. You still need to monitor what they are looking at. 3. Let kids know to never give out their name, phone number, address, email address, or password. They should know never to give information that could identify them in any way, such as the school they attend. Make sure they know to ask your permission before entering their email address in an online form or registering on any website. 4. Bookmark family friendly websites or save a link directly to the desktop so their favorite websites are one click away. That will save them from stumbling on the wrong website because of a typographical error. 5. Enable the security settings of your favorite search engines. Google, for example, has a SafeSearch option, which will block websites with sexually explicit content from appearing in the search results. You'll find this option by clicking "Search Preferences" from Google's main page. 6. Keep your kids from triggering malicious popups by using your browser's popup blocker settings. You might also consider disabling Java, depending on the kinds of sites your children visit. 7. Consider creating a family email address (instead of allowing individual ones) so that you can access and monitor emails. 8. Let kids know the importance of not opening emails or downloading attachments from senders whom they don't know. If you allow your kids to use email and instant messaging, reiterate that these services are ways to connect with their existing friends and not a way to make new friends. Emphasize that they should not reach out to strangers online or answer emails from people they don't know. And if they are approached by a stranger online, they should let you know immediately. Instruct your kids to let you know right away if something unexpected happens on the computer (if they get a popup asking them for personal information, for example, or if someone whom they don't know sends them an instant message). 9. Emphasize that, just because something is published on the Internet, it doesn't mean it's a fact. Give children and teens guidelines for discerning which sites are trustworthy and give them examples of sites that you turn to for trustworthy information. 10. Teach your kids what to do if they feel scared or threatened when they are online. Make sure your children know that they can come to you with any problem.
by: Jamie Jefferson