It is not a surprise that anxiety can be experienced even in childhood. Childhood anxiety is elicited by some factors which will be discussed shortly. If it is difficult for some adults to manage stressful events that cause anxiety, then children are more likely to be affected by anxiety since they are not matured to handle adverse situations. Some children even grow up with anxiety if there is no proper help given to them at that tender stage.  This is why it is very important for parents to closely watch their children and help them handle stressful events so that they will not carry anxiety to later years of their lives.

One of the major causes of childhood anxiety is separation. It is normal for children to suffer anxiety at childhood especially when they are being separated from their parents or siblings. Also when a child is left in the care of a new minder, such child is bound to feel separated from the parents no matter how short the time of separation might be. Anxiety in childhood elicited by separation is a part of a child’s development; but when such anxiety in a child persists to a certain age or time, it is necessary to address it.

Childhood anxiety can also be caused by educational activities and peer pressure. At childhood, there is always the tendency of being anxious over workload at school. There was a case of a child who told the parents that she wants her school building to be blown up and that she wants all her teachers to be in the building when the building is being demolished. The parents being so surprised at the request of their little girl asked her what her reasons for such wish are. She said that her teachers are always bugging her with home works and that she gets too anxious on how to get those home works done at the expense of her leisure time! Besides educational activities, children tend to go into anxiety as a result of pressures from their peers, especially the case of being constantly bullied by the older children.

Divorce and parents’ separation can cause childhood anxiety. Divorce and separation of couples can cause untold hardship and anxiety in children in a measure that cannot be imagined. The fear that they might not see either their mother or father put them in a constant anxious state, particularly when they start ruminating over the loving moments and activities they had together with their parents before the separation. Therefore parents should try every thing possible to resolve their differences rather than calling it quits. Divorce has a very debilitating and lasting effect on children. When separation eventually occurs, children should be reassured both verbally and through non-verbal expressions that everything is going to be okay as before.

Helping a child to walk through childhood anxiety will ensure that such child does not carry it to adulthood. This will also ensure that the mental, physical, emotional, and biological health is not hampered.