What Do I Do With Worry? A Devotional for ParentsНамуна

DAY 3: Handling Our Own Worries Well

One source of our children’s worry comes from self-imposed pressure and living up to the perceived standards of others. Another child worries about when the coronavirus will be over so we can see family again. To be honest, these worries are not exclusive to our children. As parents, we have to realize how we project our own worries onto our kids. Our greatest weapon in helping our kids deal with worry is learning how to manage it ourselves.

When we suppress our worries, our kids see it and suppress them too. Research shows worry has a trickle-down effect from parent to child. It’s imperative we, too, learn how to manage our worry so we can cultivate a more peaceful environment for our children and give them the tools at an early age for coping with worry and thinking differently about the problems they encounter in the world around them. 

As parents, we often feel the pressure to have an answer for all the “what-ifs.” Instead of being tempted to write off our worries with “it’ll be fine,” we can choose to recognize our emotions, or those of our kids, and accept that we don’t always have the answers. But we can always model for our kids the power of going back to God’s promise to hold on to us in all circumstances.