Fortunately, there are many treatment options for children out there, when they are diagnosed correctly. While there aren’t as many as there are for adults, the treatment options grow every day. Medications, therapy, relaxation techniques, and more can all be prescribed for children to help them learn to relax when needed and help them combat the anxiety on a daily basis. But what happens when you feel that your child needs a bit of extra help, say before a big test or big trip? You can’t rush them to the emergency room, you can’t make a doctor’s appointment every day of the week for anxiety. So what do you do? Well, there are several different programs that you can order online that offer different relaxation techniques that your child can use to help them calm down and relax right away. These programs offer information for both the parent and the child – helping both to deal with the problem and find ways to help the child whenever they need it. The problem is that a lot of these programs can be just filler and junk and not really offer anything that will help your child. This is where reviews come in, so that you can see what you’re getting before you purchase it. So, let’s take a look at one such program, the Anxiety Free Child Program.
When I first started the download of the program, I was impressed at how much was there. Not only was the main program there, but there were also several audio files. I couldn’t wait to see what those were. I started reading through the program itself right away and I caught myself reading for over an hour the first time. The information that I found inside was so easy to read, so personable, that it was easy to identify with and provided me with some much needed information. For instance, I didn’t realize that anxiety problems affect children differently than they do adults. I read through the whole program the first time I opened it because it was just that good. The author also writes in a way that is very fun to read. Along with the information (which is all written in normal language – no medical jargon, no fluff, no mumbo jumbo that you can’t understand), he is a pretty funny guy. So, it makes the reading even easier, since it’s light as well even though the subject matter isn’t funny at all. I have to give him credit here for really putting together a superbly written program that is actually fun to read.
Once I read through everything, I understood what the audio files were for. They are relaxation techniques that your child can listen to. So, I asked my son to come in and give them a try. I figured he would probably think they were “stupid” or “lame” and wouldn’t want to use them. I explained that they were to help with his anxiety and help him relax when he needed to. I also told him that I just wanted his opinion on any one of them and if he wanted to use them when needed, that was fine. He sat down and I walked away to let him listen without thinking I was watching. I was surprised that he actually sat there the whole time. In fact, he even clicked on another one afterward and listened to it as well. Afterward, he came to me and said that he would use them and he thought that they would help a little bit. I left it at that and just showed him where I had downloaded them on the computer, and let him know that he could use them whenever he needed. He said that was fine. The next day, I came into the living room and he was listening to one with his eyes closed. I have seen him use them several times a week actually and he says that they really do help him relax.
One of the main things that we liked about the written part of the program is that it is full of excellent information. There is so much there in fact, that we had to read through it twice to get a full grasp of everything. We learned so much and we do believe that it’s not just because we didn’t know the information, but it’s also the way that it was presented to us. We are in no way uneducated, but we are also not doctors. The writer obviously knew this and wrote the program in a very personal way that would communicate the seriousness of the problem, but also be readable and enjoyable to parents when they were going through it. Everything is written in a way that is super easy to understand so that you can in turn put that knowledge to use to really help your child deal with their anxiety.
We particularly liked that the program anticipates the various needs and personalities of children by offering a wide array of techniques to rely on. If you find out one that doesn’t quite do the job or your child doesn’t like, you’re not going to run out of options. It is pretty clear also that depending on your child’s experience, the causes of the anxiety and its intensity, you will come to prefer techniques that seem to be a more appropriate response to the situation than others. Another positive element in the Anxiety Free Child Program is the section dealing with how to choose a therapist, should you feel the need to contact one. The child’s interest is always kept in sight when dealing with factors that should lead to the final decision. It’s good also that the program doesn’t present itself as the ultimate panacea but more like a tool box and guide on how to best find a solution to a problem. Of course, the program itself is loaded with solutions, but other tools are never ruled out as potentially necessary to put an end to your child’s anxiety.
Overall, we’ve both been reading through the program and he still uses the audio techniques a few times a week. In fact, we’ve done some other exercises together and even talked about anxiety and how different it is between him and I. It’s been a real experience going through the program with him. I actually have seen a marked improvement in how he deals with his anxiety overall. I mentioned to the doctor that the program has really been helping a lot and he said that he’s had several other people say the same thing.
To conclude this review, the Anxiety Free Child Program does get our recommendation for it provides easy to use, effective tools as well as useful advice on how to deal with anxiety, even if you choose to do it outside of the program itself. Since anxiety is a problem to be dealt with in the long run, it’s a good idea to turn to a cheap effective way to go in the right direction from the start.
More information on anxiety in kids at AnxietyInKids.net. For specific information on teenage anxiety, visit TeenageAnxiety.net