Anything short term for child with anxiety

[moana1234]

Over the last few months by 6 year old son has developed quite bad anxiety with unknown situations. We are working on techniques to help him in the long term as are school. However I am panicking as he has sports day and a class play which he has a line for in the next few weeks. Is there anything you have found or know about to help in the short term? I was thinking maybe a fidget toy or some similar kind of distraction technique?

Fidget toys might be good. You can get hoodies and T-shirts with fidget toy attached.
Worry monster ( write worries down and it eats them) Books like When My Worries get too big.
Can he articulate what he is worried about?

Another idea is to write worries on post its and literally swat them with a plastic fly swatter ( swatting NATs negative automatic thoughts.

Alternatively play on the positives
I know you are worried about going to ( place) or doing ( event) but X will be there
It will only last 5 minutes/ afterwards we can go to the park etc.

Is it fear of the unknown? Worrying about not coming first/ making mistakes etc.
Prepare him as well as you can for what will or might happen and who to go to/ what to do if he’s overwhelmed.
Might need to do some unpicking. Focus on things he’s good at/ does well.
Do they do Growth Mindset at school? Worth a look.

That sounds stressful, and it's great you and the school are already working on the longer term stuff.

For the short term, a small quiet fidget toy he can hold in his pocket can really help. The repetitive motion gives his hands something to do and brings his focus back to the present rather than the worry. Let him try a couple beforehand and pick the one that feels right. There's a plain English explainer on whether they actually work here if it helps: https://fidgettoystore.co.uk/blogs/guides/what-are-fidget-toys-do-they-actually-work

A few other things that work well alongside it:

Rehearse the event in advance, walk the route or practise his line, so it stops being an "unknown situation." Give him a small job or a spot to look for you, so he has a focus point rather than the pressure to perform. And teach a quick calming trick like breathing in for four and out for four, discreet enough to use on stage.

Keep your own tone light and confident too, as kids tend to read our nerves.
Wishing him the best of luck. He's lucky to have a parent putting this much thought in.

I recommend a (quiet) fidget toy in his pocket. But I actually have had really bad results if I spend too much time talking through things beforehand. Of course if he brings it up you should support him, but my daughter tends to do better the less she imagines things ahead of time. I did a course with CAHMS about dealing with uncertainty and they helped me think about that a bit differently - that to her, the anxiety of anticipation is the worst bit so the more we can stay calm beforehand the more it helps on the day. That is specific to my child though so not sure if you've noticed the same with your wee one. I also recommend using a lot of 'maybes' if you're talking it through ahead of time - saying things like 'I'll be on the side' as a guarantee and then on the day you're sick / traffic / the setup is different to you expect / etc - that led to some rough experiences before I remembered to always say 'I think this might be what happens, but maybe it will be a bit different'

Have you tried the Kathy Cresswell book?