Will My Anxiety Rub Off Onto My Kids? (video)

I Am The WORST Parent Ever podcast

Nicole doesn’t watch the news. She says she doesn’t need the negativity: “on the day to day, I make anxiety out of nothing.” Nicole admits that she’s a worrier and is not very "balanced” as she deals with life's inconveniences and personal concerns. She rarely makes time for self-care and she just found something new to fret about: the worry that her constant habit of turning molehills into mountains is rubbing off on her children.

Robert doesn’t seem to get thrown around the same way. Maybe his meditation practice helps him keep stress at a low simmer, preventing anxiety from overtaking his being. When he stood up on stage recently to deliver his first TEDx talk, he admitted that he sure felt anxiety well up. Like Nicole, Robert forgets how easily our kids see right through our facades.

Anxiety can be debilitating. It can become so overwhelming. If we treat our own issues like they are life or death, how do we keep our anxiety from rubbing off on our kids?

In this episode of ‘I Am The Worst Parent Ever’ podcast, Nicole and Robert offer up suggestions for naturally lessening anxiety in your day-to-day life including the habit of "looking up" and looking ahead. There is a middle ground between blissfully and aimlessly looking up and tripping over crap and looking down disgruntledly and begrudgingly while missing the magic unfolding in the present moment.

It’s not about beating yourself up over being late (looking down) but about looking up as you pull out to find new inspiration in that other mom who dares to pull in to school late and doesn’t beat herself up about it. Our children see from us from the inside out, so let's make sure we take care of ourselves to show them how it’s done.