Crippling anxiety hits children
Clinical psychologist and Waikato University teaching fellow Kirsty Dempster-Rivett will give a free public seminar on the psychology of tweens and teenagers.
Increasing numbers of Kiwi children are experiencing crippling anxiety - and US President Donald Trump is partly to blame.
Children's playground discussions now extend beyond simple haggling over lunchbox treats, to include talk about climate change and nuclear war.
And it's taking its toll on a generation of youngsters.
Rhode Street School principal Shane Ngatai said a lot of children's anxieties were caused by a fear of the unknown (file photo).
Kirsty Dempster-Rivett, a clinical psychologist, has seen rates of anxiety increase among tweens (11 and 12-year-olds) and teenagers in recent years.
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Ministry of Health figures released in 2017 indicate about 79,000 Kiwi youths are affected by psychological distress.
Fuelling young people's anxieties is a range of factors, including a growing tendency for youngsters to adopt adult worries.
"Tweens especially are more aware of what's going on in the world and are more aware of adult concerns. But at the same time they're not emotionally or intellectually able to cope with it," Dempster-Rivett said.
"Children need to talk about what's happening with climate change and extinction but sometimes they get so sad about what's happening they forget they also have the power to change things."
Dempster-Rivett, a teaching fellow at Waikato University, will give a free public seminar about the psychology of tweens and teenagers in Hamilton on Thursday.
Rhode Street School principal Shane Ngatai has seen a rise in rates of anxiety among children. He's also observed the trend of youngsters to become overly concerned about global issues.
During escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, some students started fretting about nuclear war.
Ngatai said teachers tried to allay fears by explaining events in simple terms.
"We compared it to two kids in a sandpit fighting over the same toys and asked students how they'd resolve it. Our kids are smart and said they'd get them to talk about it," Ngatai said.
"I said that's exactly what everyone is trying to do at the moment."
Dempster-Rivett said some children's anxiety stemmed from a sense of being overwhelmed by choice.
Parents who identified themselves as Generation X fought hard for opportunities and were now keen to pass on as many choices to their children.
Consequently, some children suffered from a "crisis of choice".
"What can happen is these children start not trying anymore and they stop going to sport and stop playing music because they get paralysed by anxiety," Dempster-Rivett said.
"As parents, we need to remember that our children still need our guidance because they're not little adults, they're still growing. All of us worry, it's part of being a tween and a teenager, but children have to learn how to manage their emotions."
A failure to address children's emotional needs could lead to their feelings of anxiety becoming generalised.
Ngatai said teachers were given training to help identify and understand anxiety and stress in students.
It wasn't unusual to have up to three children in any one class exhibit signs of anxiety. In some schools, that number could be as high as five students per class.
"Children have got more choices than ever before, and more information available to them through the internet, and for some it's overwhelming," Ngatai said.
"Having choice is great but children have to be taught the skills to make sense of it. They have to be taught problem-solving skills and how to ask good questions. That way, they learn how to distinguish fact from fiction."
Other factors causing anxiety in children were concerns about food, shelter and clothing.
"This comes back to anxiety being caused by fear of the unknown and, for some children, worrying about food is part of their reality," Ngatai said.
"As teachers we try to bring them back to a calm place. It might be something as simple as asking if they've had breakfast and providing that."
* Clinical psychologist Kirsty Dempster-Rivett will give a free seminar on the psychology of tweens and teenagers at Hamilton's Celebrating Age Centre, Victoria Street, on Thursday, from 5pm to 7pm.
- Stuff
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