Parenting

Parenting the child of any age with social anxiety and related problems can be a daunting task. As one father said to me "when you have a child they don't come with a training manual.

It is absolutely essential for parents to understand that while there are many different manifestations of social anxiety there are basically two types of people who have the problem. One is the individual who is capable of initiative. The other is not. Initiative does not mean ability. It means to “start up”. No children are capable of initiative. 99% of teenagers are not. Many adults are overly dependent on their caregivers and, therefore are not capable of initiative.

The biggest mistake that is made regarding social anxiety is to believe that the child who is “shy” or socially avoidant will simply grow out of the problem. This is not the case. The problem gets worse with time. The reality is that healing occurs when the person learns their way out of the problem. When dependants of any age do not have initiative, the parents have two choices. One is to learn how to empower the child to healing. The other is to do nothing, which is is “enabling” the problem.

As a parent, you have a lot of power to help your child heal: whether your child is 6, 16, or, 26. The earlier that parents learn a corrective parenting strategy for the socially anxious child, the easier therapeutic objectives can be reached; the anxiety has less of a chance to work its way into the personality and create avoidant and dependent characteristics!

Understand that time is your most valuable asset. Taking action now can save you from a lifetime of distress and despair.

Your Options

1. Free Introductory CD
2. The book, "Beyond Shyness: How to Conquer Social Anxieties" (Simon & Schuster)
3. Comprehensive self-therapy audio CD program for social and performance anxiety
4. Public Speaking Anxiety: Self Therapy Audio CD Program
5. Therapy in Great Neck, New York
6. Telephone therapy
7. Selective Mutism Seminar on Audio CD
8. "Parenting The Selectively Mute Child": Self-therapy Audio CD Program
9. "Social Therapy and the Learning Disabled: A seminar on Audio CD
10. Free social-ability questionnaire
11. Free "Parent Addiction" quiz
12. Subscribe to the Tip of the Month Club

There are many free self diagnostic options at www.social-anxiety.com