I think that there are some dos and some don'ts. So when your child is suffering, or when they're distressed, and they're going to face a situation that's difficult for them, then the instinct for a parent is to provide a lot of excessive reassurance. Or the child might be becoming really distressed and whining a lot or getting really resistant and disruptive, and then the parent might be having the urge to reprimand their child. An excessive reassurance or reprimands can really heighten a child's anxiety. And so a good strategy in those moments is to really praise the child for any sort of efforts towards appropriate coping or any efforts toward self-calming.
