The Truth About Childhood Anxiety – Treatment No One Talks About
Seeking effective childhood anxiety treatment? Uncover the shocking truth no one is talking about that parents need to know.
Watch the video or download the Rise Renewed Podcast episode below.
Our kids are in crisis.
42% of Gen Z have a mental health diagnosis. Teen suicide rates have surged 60% since 2007. Adolescent depression and anxiety have doubled in the last decade.
Therapy, medication, and school interventions do not seem to be enough. Parents seek solutions, but what if we look in the wrong place?
As a dual-certified nurse practitioner with 10 years in emergency medicine, I’ve treated children who can’t cope, consoled parents who feel powerless, and watched as the system struggles to keep up with the growing demand.
But here’s the hard truth—our kids’ anxiety is not just theirs, it’s ours.
We are trying to protect our kids, but what if we are protecting them from the wrong things? What if the very efforts we make to help them thrive are actually making them more anxious?
Today we are going to unpack some uncomfortable but necessary questions:
❓ Why are kids more anxious than ever despite having more comfort and security features?
❓ How is modern parenting unknowingly fueling this crisis?
❓ Are we actually protecting our kids—or just passing down our own fears?
❓ And most importantly—what needs to change?
If your child is struggling, the first step to helping them may not be what you think. Keep reading—this might change everything.
The System Is Broken—And Our Parenting May Be, Too
Christian moms, we are not immune to this crisis. We may unknowingly be contributing to it.
We want what’s best for our children. But when we parent from a place of anxiety rather than wisdom, we unintentionally pass our fears onto them.
And more often than not, it is happening without us even realizing it.
The Safetyism Trap: How Our Fears Are Shaping Our Kids
Jonathan Haidt, in his groundbreaking book The Anxious Generation, describes how modern parenting has fallen into a pattern of “safetyism”—where we shield our children from every possible harm in the real world while leaving them dangerously exposed in the virtual one.
- We overprotect them in the physical world—removing challenges that would help them develop resilience.
- We underprotect them in the digital world—giving them access to smartphones, social media, and online influences designed to manipulate their emotions.
The result?
A generation that is fragile, anxious, and emotionally unprepared for life.
As Christian moms, the danger is even more subtle because we often justify the “safetyism” or fear-driven decisions by calling them Biblical wisdom.
Parenting from Fear or Parenting from Faith?
Look at how we make decisions about our kids’ education, for example:
- We fear what they’ll be exposed to in public school, so we send them to a Christian school.
- We fear losing involvement in the curriculum or the convenience in our schedules, so we homeschool.
- We fear sheltering them too much, so we insist on public school.
None of these choices are wrong.
What is wrong is when the choice is rooted in fear.
Too often, if we’re willing to be honest, we protect them from the struggle of sin because it is more convenient for us.
It’s easier to shield our kids from the battle than to walk through it with them. But just as comfort doesn’t build emotional resilience, it doesn’t reveal God’s grace either. For them, and us, to truly experience His grace, they must feel the weight of their sin, and that hurts.
True spiritual strength isn’t found in safety; it’s forged in struggle.
Tim Keller in Walking with God through Pain and Suffering says this:
“Suffering is a way to know God, not just to know about Him.”
If we want our children to form a deep, personal connection with God where they don’t just know of Him but feel known by him, then we must allow them to spiritually struggle.
As parents, are we truly seeking God’s best for our children, or are we trying to control what we fear to spare ourselves from pain?
Our Anxiety Becomes Theirs
When we let our unprocessed fears shape our parenting, we teach our children to fear the world instead of trust the God who has already overcome it.
- If we hover over them to prevent failure, they learn they’re incapable.
- If we micromanage their friendships, they never learn to navigate conflict.
- If we constantly shield them from worldly influence, they’ll learn to measure decisions by obedience to parental rules rather than by Spirit-led discernment.
And the same is true of ourselves.
Childhood Anxiety Treatment: Starts with Our Hearts
The best childhood anxiety treatment isn’t just more therapy or more restrictions, and it certainly is not removing them from the struggle.
It starts with us. Moms who are willing to look inward, face our own fear, and enter into the fears of our children.
We cannot help our children find peace if we are filled with worry.
We cannot lead them with confidence if we are controlled by fear.
We cannot expect them to trust God if we cling to control.
Are we modeling the truth of Romans 5:3-4” (NIV) emphasizes how suffering leads to resilience:”
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
If we want our kids to rise with Christ-like perseverance, character, and hope, we must lead by example—learning to embrace suffering rather than avoiding it out of fear of exposing our own weakness, imperfection, and sin.
This is why self-reflection for us as moms is not a luxury—it’s a necessity.
And it’s why Early Morning Habit® exists.
How Early Morning Habit Helps Moms Rise with Faith
Early Morning Habit invites Christian moms to pause, reflect, and reset, focusing on God before the chaos of the day begins.
It’s about rewiring our minds for a faith that doesn’t avoid fear. This isn’t about a “faith over fear” doctrine; it’s about a “faith through fear” because He is with us.
As Isaiah 41:10 promises, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
In those quiet moments, when we ground ourselves in the truth that God is enough, we are fueled with Christ-centered resilience, empowering us to face life’s challenges—and to guide our kids through theirs—with unwavering, Christ-like confidence.
This is the kind of resilience that endures.
The Most Important Book on Childhood Anxiety Treatment
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt is the most pivotal read for parents today. In this eye-opening book, Haidt uncovers:
📖 How “safetyism” and overprotection are hindering kids’ development
📖 The damaging impact of smartphones and social media on mental health
📖 Why resilience is the missing link in childhood anxiety treatment
But simply knowing the problem isn’t enough.
We must actively transform ourselves to model peace, strength, and unwavering trust in God.
Moms, This Starts with Us
If we want our kids to be less anxious, we have to become less anxious ourselves.
If we want them to be confident, we must trust God with their future.
If we want them to be emotionally resilient, we need to first strengthen our own hearts in Christ.
It’s time to stop parenting from a place of fear—protecting them from anyone or anything that might challenge what we want them to believe.
It’s time to stop seeking quick-fix solutions to childhood anxiety that are actually masking our deeper issues.
Instead, let’s lead by example.
Let’s allow God to renew our minds so we can raise resilient, faith-filled children.
And it all starts with one habit. Early Morning Habit®.
Join Christian moms from around the world who are rising renewed in Christ each morning—so they can lead their children from a place of peace, not panic.
Let’s rise.
Pin any of the images below.
