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A–Z Glossary

Avoidance

Avoidance is restricting ordinary activities to prevent feared outcomes, which can temporarily reduce fear while maintaining anxiety.

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Search results for: Avoidance

Managing anxiety before speaking in front of the class

Managing anxiety before speaking in front of the class

Understand what the child is experiencing Presentation anxiety is a situational form of nervousness that can occur when a child expects scrutiny, embarrassment, forgetting, or negative evaluation. The brain may interpret standing before a group as a threat, activating sympathetic arousal. This can produce a fast pulse, muscle tension, dry mouth, gastrointestinal discomfort, dizziness, sweating, […]

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What to do when a child hides unfinished schoolwork

What to do when a child hides unfinished schoolwork

Begin with calm curiosity When you find an unfinished worksheet in a drawer, backpack, or under a bed, pause before confronting the child. A strong reaction can unintentionally confirm the child’s fear that disclosure will lead to humiliation, punishment, or an intense argument. Regulate your own response first, then choose a private moment for conversation. […]

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Child bored easily and avoids effort tasks

Child bored easily and avoids effort tasks

What boredom may be communicating Boredom is often described casually, but psychologically it is a state of low engagement and dissatisfaction with the current activity. A child may experience it when a task has too little meaning, too little novelty, too much repetition, or too much effort for the expected payoff. In control-value terms, boredom […]

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Child shy in social situations

Child shy in social situations

What shyness can mean in childhood Shyness in children is often described as behavioral inhibition, social reticence, or a cautious response to unfamiliar people and settings. Research commonly frames shyness as inhibition, fear, and avoidance during social novelty or social evaluation. In everyday language, this may look like a child who watches before joining, speaks […]

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Helping children who avoid new experiences

Helping children who avoid new experiences

Understanding avoidance without blame A child who avoids new experiences is not simply being difficult. Avoidance is a biologically understandable strategy: when the brain detects threat or uncertainty, the autonomic nervous system may shift toward fight, flight, freeze, or appease responses. In children, this can look like hiding behind a caregiver, refusing to enter a […]

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When a child refuses to try anything they might not do well

When a child refuses to try anything they might not do well

Seeing refusal as a protective behavior When a child refuses a new sport, will not start homework, avoids drawing because “it will look bad,” or melts down before a class presentation, the adult impulse may be to label the behavior as laziness, manipulation, or disrespect. Sometimes limits and expectations do matter. But clinically and developmentally, […]

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When anxiety becomes a problem

When anxiety becomes a problem

Normal anxiety has a purpose Anxiety is a coordinated neurobiological response involving the autonomic nervous system, stress hormones, attention networks, and threat appraisal. In practical terms, it can produce a racing heart, faster breathing, muscle tension, vigilance, and a strong urge to escape or seek reassurance. This response is uncomfortable, but not inherently harmful. Developmental […]

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Why parents feel anxious and common fears

Why parents feel anxious and common fears

Why anxiety is so common in parenting Parenthood places the brain in a state of sustained vigilance. A caregiver is continually scanning for signs of hunger, pain, danger, developmental delay, social exclusion, illness, or emotional distress. This vigilance is adaptive: it helps parents notice a fever, a choking hazard, a depressed mood, or a risky […]

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Parental anxiety explained

Parental anxiety explained

What parental anxiety means Parental anxiety is not simply caring deeply. Caring involves attention, planning, and responsiveness. Anxiety becomes more problematic when the nervous system repeatedly interprets ordinary uncertainty as imminent danger. A parent may know rationally that a child is probably safe, yet still feel physiological arousal: rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, gastrointestinal discomfort, insomnia, […]

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