Often the first obvious sign of a child getting stressed is when they are screaming and shouting or they have become totally withdrawn. In order to avoid these incidents you need your child to become more self-aware of when their stress and anxiety levels are rising and have the confidence and communication skills to let you know.

Strategies:

Use a rating scale card to help them become more aware of their emotional arousal. See article on emotional regulation

Identify a quiet area where they can go to when feeling stressed - reinforce message "When I'm feeling upset I can go to my quiet place. If space is limited use a pop up tent to provide safe place. Also useful to take away on visits and holidays

Help the child to express themselves through activities like drawing pictures or writing down things that upset them and placing in a worry box

Reinforce message that it is OK to feel frustrated and angry sometimes but not to scream and shout. Try to model this yourself so they learn from your actions

Note down situations that can be triggers for your child. Consider writing a social story explaining what they should do to remain calm when next in that situation

Actively teach your child calming strategies.

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