Listening to parents: The challenges of parenting kindergarten-aged children who are anxious

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the experience of parenting kindergarten-aged children who are anxious. Twenty-three in-depth interviews were conducted with parents of kindergarten-aged children who expressed interest in a parent-focused early intervention program for child anxiety offered in a local elementary school. Key concerns of the parents included their children’s separation anxiety, social anxiety, and oppositional behaviour. The child’s anxiety was identified as a stressor on the child, the parent, and the family. Parents utilized a range of parenting responses although they tended to be reactive and did not have a consistent strategy for managing the anxiety. A salient parenting struggle was whether or not to push the child to face challenging situations although there were few descriptions of overprotection or overcontrol. The findings suggest greater attention be given to the strengths of parents of children who are anxious and the ways in which parents may be a positive factor in mitigating the effects of child anxiety. Implications for intervention are discussed.