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Parents can decrease childhood anxiety by promoting independence.

Independence activities must involve risk, be child-directed, and include no parental involvement.

Children and teens enjoy independence activities.

What if there was a way to help your anxious child learn self-confidence about facing scary thoughts and situations? What if there were things you could do now that might help them avoid the need for psychotherapy? The good news is that there is—and it costs nothing. It involves being willing to set the stage for your child, teen, or young adult to practice being independent by learning to do things that feel risky, adult, or potentially dangerous.

This might sound crazy to you. Isn’t it a parent’s job to keep their child safe and emotionally attached? The answer is an obvious "Yes," but how you keep your child safe and emotionally........

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