Signs of Anxiety In Children

Common Childhood Worries

There are a variety of situations that can cause normal worry and anxiety for kids of different ages. New situations, challenging tasks, and even unfamiliar people can lead to fear and anxiety in children from time to time.

Other age-appropriate fears include:

• Stranger anxiety beginning at 7 to 9 months of age and resolving around age 3
• Fear of the dark, monsters, insects, and animals in preschoolers
• Fear of heights or storms in younger school-age children
• Worry about school and friends in older school-age children and teens

These childhood fears are normal and typically lessen on their own as a child grows older with support and love from a parent. It takes more than occasional anxiety, which can be normal, to indicate true symptoms of an anxiety disorder.