Bringing our children’s anxiety to God
Introducing Timeless Parenting Episode 15.
Anxiety, worry, fear, nervousness, stress … Did you know that all of these feelings are expressions of the same physiological process in our bodies? Did you know that this process actually serves a good God-given purpose in our lives?
We learned so much about these questions and more from our recent conversation with Dr Sarah Allen, an author, mum of three and GP with a special interest in anxiety disorders. Sarah shared her wisdom and expertise, helping us to understand:
- what is happening in our bodies when we experience fear or anxiety
- what is the difference between 'everyday' kinds of worry and clinical anxiety disorders
- what we should do if we think we or our children are suffering from an anxiety disorder.
Sarah also helped us to reflect on the wonderfully helpful resource that Christian parents have at their disposal: the word of God. We explored about how the Bible helps us to understand God's purposes in our suffering—both ours and our children's. Sarah showed us how anxiety can actually present an opportunity for us and our children to grow in our knowledge of God and of ourselves. We looked at some beautiful moments in the New Testament when people came to Jesus in fear and trembling and went away with something even better than immediate relief from their anxiety.
All of this helped us to gain a clearer perspective on how we, as parents, can help our children when they feel anxious. This conversation will equip parents not to 'fix' their children's anxiety, but to walk alongside them with empathy and gently point them back to their loving heavenly Father.
Dr Sarah Allen has also written a book, Scary Stuff, for parents and caregivers to work through with their children aged 8–12. Find out more and pre-order Sarah’s book at Youthworks Media.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Scary Stuff by Dr Sarah Allen. A book for children aged 8–12 and parents to work through together to help them discover what fear is all about, how our bodies and minds work, and—best of all!—God himself.
The Parent Hope Project: parenting courses, articles and podcasts designed to empower and support parents in today’s complex world using a 'family systems' approach.
Emerging Minds: Resources on parenting children with mental illness and parenting with a mental illness. This site covers topics such as dealing with trauma, natural disasters and bullying. There are resources for both parents and children
Beyond Blue: Support to achieve and maintain good mental health. This includes resources for family and friends.
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You can also find our podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
Mothers Union Sydney runs an annual seminar about Christian life and parenting. Listen to talks from previous seminars on Soundcloud.
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If you want to get in touch with us to offer some feedback or suggest a topic, you can write to us at: timelessparenting@youthworks.net
Timeless Parenting is brought to you by Growing Faith, a ministry of Youthworks Media and Mothers Union Sydney.
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