high levels of anxiety in 7 yr old

[seriouscase]

One of my children is 7 and a lovely boy. However he is prone to getting himself into states of agitation which are really wearing and stressful for him.
For example he wanted to play chess with me but before long he was wailing and getting really upset because he lost his queen and he thought he was going to lose. He can't accept that he was going to learn by his mistakes. His peers have started to notice too and his teacher has told us she has some concerns.
Any advice?

Well there are many great book which help with this...it is quite a common problem...though of course that doesn't make it any easier to deal with!

Is he quite bright? The two often go together...over-thinking things can really cause anxiety and stress.

www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_16?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=anxious+children&sprefix=anxious+children

Ifyou think about it...it's not your average 7 year old who can play chess...some can yes...but not all by any means and deaing with losing is a lesson they all have to cope with. The books in the linh are helpful...and perhaps putting him in a pysical activity such as yoga or a martial art would help.

My DS plays a lot of chess (7 too) - competitions. It's a great way to learn to lose gracefully. I see it a lot with other children and I think the best way to deal with it is to acknowledge he's upset, briefly, and then ignore it as much as possible. One of DS's friends accuses opponents of cheating when he loses (every time!). His mother believes him for some reason and therefore the behaviour continues. When you're away from the situation you can talk to him about learning from mistakes, losing gracefully etc.

It might also help to let him win to build up his confidence - I used to let my son win to start with, now I can't beat him! My DS used to have hissy fits with me at the beginning and I would stop the game and tell him I wouldn't play with him unless he stopped that behaviour.