Anxiety in my 5 year old

[StephanieCB30]

I feel like a failure writing this as I am a drama teacher and teach confidence in my students, yet my 5 year old son seems to have anxiety problems. He chews the skin off the top of his fingers and peels it off until the skin is red raw, he bites his nails (I know I used to too) he still occasionally wets the bed and doesn't sleep through the night in his own bed. Comments and advice greatly appreciated

It often works that way-I think there is far more in nature than nurture.
Has he had any events in his short life that have been difficult?

A bereavement in the family last year?

Hi stephanie there is a thread for parents of anxious children. Its not massively active but there are some interesting posts.

I will bump it for you

Thank you, though I don't think it came through, I'll see if I can find it!

Does he know what is making him anxious? Is he reluctant to do anything in particular?

Sleep in his own bed?! No idea where his anxiety is stemming from......

I think the key is to find out to root cause of the anxiety.

This can be harder than it sounds because children of 5 don't always understand the root of their own emotions.

Does he have a term for feeling stressed or anxious that he uses and understands? If so you could try to get him to give you a pattern for his anxiety through the day. This may give you a clue about the root cause.

I did this with my DD using a whole room. We mapped the room out with labels for different bits of the day then she walked round to different points indicating with her hand the level of anxiety she felt at that time. For her the high points were getting ready to leave for school, playtime and lunchtime and time with certain teachers. It helped a lot with our understanding of her anxiety.