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Anxious parents can unintentionally pass their fears to their children.

Breaking the cycle starts with changing how parents respond to their own anxiety.

Parents can coach rather than fix.

We give birth to innocent, tiny babies and make an unspoken vow to protect them and keep them happy forever. In those early months, surviving on inconsistent sleep and milk stains, parenting starts to feel manageable once you find your rhythm. You realize you can keep your little one comfortable simply by anticipating their needs, making silly faces, taking spontaneous trips for ice cream, or spending an afternoon at the park.

As our kids grow, life gets a little more complicated, and the emotional stakes rise. If you are an anxious person, that baseline worry doesn't simply disappear when you become a parent. In fact, it peaks and wanes as you navigate each new phase.

Having been an anxious child, teenager, and young adult, I spent years hoping I would somehow spare my own two children from inheriting that "anxiety gene." Yet, as I began observing my daily reactions, my chosen words, my catastrophizing, and even my sudden changes in body language, I reached an eye-opening realization. I was actively passing on anxious information and modeling fear in real-time.

Anxious parenting isn't a character flaw, but rather a protective instinct gone into overdrive. As........

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