List of behaviours to observe

These behaviours are commonly observed by parents of anxious children. Read through this list daily and note the ones you observe your child doing.

  • Repeatedly asks “what if” questions and, despite constant reassurance, continues to worry 

  • Refuses to eat many foods, limiting themselves to foods they feel comfortable with

  • Worries about making errors or missing assignments to the point of frequently reviewing work, seeking reassurance from you that the work is satisfactory, or repeatedly checking their backpack or daily planner 

  • Procrastinates excessively on schoolwork or other obligations, in spite of the fact that they demonstrate the ability to complete them

  • Experiences great difficulty making decisions and worries about whether a decision is the “best” or “right” one

  • Fears anything less than a perfect performance in academic or athletic situations

  • Expresses excessive or inappropriate guilt or sense of responsibility

  • Refuses to discard unnecessary items due to fears of needing items in the future or because they have sentimental value

  • Refuses to sleep in their own room, becomes distressed and agitated when asked to do so

  • Insists on you saying certain statements in particular ways or do some things in specific ways

  • Becomes distressed when separated from you, refusing to be left with a babysitter or to go on sleepovers or overnight trips without you

  • Avoids some particular situations, such as movie theatres, restaurants, crowded places, noisy environments, or parks

  • Expresses a fear of germs, diseases, or dirt to the point of avoiding public bathrooms/ restrooms, shopping carts, or doorknobs and washing their hands or using hand sanitisers excessively (don’t tick the box if this is just in relation to the COVID-19 corona virus)

  • Refuses to go to school

  • Refuses to raise their hand in class or speak in front of classmates

  • Has the kind of shyness that stops them making friends or having fun in social interactions

  • Exhibits distressing physiological manifestations of anxiety, such as shaking, hyperventilating, becoming nauseated, or feeling dizzy

  • Uses particular behaviours repeatedly to reduce their distress e.g. rocking