Understanding Your Anxious Kiddo
A practical workshop to help parents understand childhood anxiety and support their child with confidence.
Many children today experience intense worry, fear, and emotional overwhelm.
Parents often see the behaviour — avoidance, meltdowns, reassurance seeking — without understanding what is happening underneath.
When parents understand how anxiety works in a child’s brain and nervous system, their response can change in powerful ways.
This workshop will help you recognise the patterns of anxiety in children and learn practical ways to support your child with clarity and confidence.
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Does This Sound Familiar?
Many parents first realise their child may be struggling with anxiety when everyday situations begin to feel difficult or unpredictable.
You may recognise some of these experiences:
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Your child worries constantly about things that seem unlikely or far in the future.
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Your child complains of stomach aches, headaches, or nausea before school or social events.
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Bedtime becomes difficult because your child feels afraid to be alone.
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Your child asks the same worried questions over and over again.
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Your child avoids activities that once seemed manageable.
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Emotional outbursts or shutdowns appear suddenly in situations that feel overwhelming.
When anxiety is present, children are not being dramatic, difficult, or manipulative. Their nervous system is responding to perceived threat.
Understanding what is happening beneath the behaviour allows parents to respond in ways that reduce fear and build confidence over time.
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Why Some Children Experience Anxiety More Intensely
Some children are naturally more sensitive to perceived danger in their environment.
Research shows that anxiety can be influenced by factors such as:
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temperament and sensitivity
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neurodivergent profiles such as ADHD or autism
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sensory sensitivity
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perfectionism and high internal pressure
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stressful or unpredictable experiences
These children often feel emotions very deeply and react strongly to uncertainty or change.
Dr Becky Kennedy refers to many of these children as “deeply feeling kids” — children whose nervous systems respond intensely to emotional experiences.
When parents understand this sensitivity, they can respond with greater empathy and more effective support.
What Anxiety Really Is
At its core, anxiety is the brain’s attempt to keep a child safe.The brain constantly scans the environment for possible danger. When the brain detects threat — real or imagined — the nervous system activates a survival response.Children may experience:
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fight (anger or resistance)
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flight (avoidance or withdrawal)
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freeze (shutdown or overwhelm)In these moments, the thinking part of the brain becomes less active while the survival system takes over.
This is why anxious children often struggle to respond to logic or reassurance in the middle of a fear response.Helping children regulate their nervous system is often the first step toward helping them manage anxiety.
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THE FIVE WAYS ANXIETY COMMONLY SHOWS UP IN CHILDREN
In this workshop we explore five common patterns of childhood anxiety.
Understanding these patterns helps parents recognise what their child may be experiencing
beneath the surface.
1. Constant worry and catastrophic thinking
Some children become trapped in cycles of “what if” thinking.
They may worry about illness, accidents, mistakes at school, or something bad happening to loved ones.
2. Physical symptoms of anxiety
Anxiety often appears in the body before it is recognised as an emotional experience.
Children may experience stomach aches, nausea, headaches, dizziness, or a feeling of being unwell.
3. Avoidance behaviour
Children may avoid situations that trigger anxiety.
This may include school, social events, sleepovers, or new experiences.
4. Emotional shutdown or overwhelm
When anxiety becomes intense, children may experience emotional overload.
They may cry, freeze, become withdrawn, or struggle to respond.
5. Reassurance seeking
Many anxious children repeatedly ask for reassurance from parents.
They may ask the same worried questions many times because reassurance brings temporary relief.
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The Ten Most Common Situations Where Anxiety Appears
Parents often notice anxiety appearing in specific situations.
In this workshop we discuss the most common triggers, including:
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school morningss
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school drop-off
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bedtime and sleeping alone
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medical appointments
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social situations
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trying new activities
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separation from parents
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school performance and perfectionism
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transitions and unexpected changes
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uncertainty about the future
Understanding these triggers helps parents anticipate situations where children may need additional support.
Seven Well-intended Responses That Can Keep Anxiety Stuck
When children are anxious, parents naturally want to protect and comfort them.
However, some common responses can unintentionally strengthen the anxiety cycle.
In this workshop we explore seven responses parents often use:
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repeated reassurance
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removing anxiety triggers completely
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accommodating anxiety in family routines
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trying to reason with the anxious brain
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frustration or dismissal
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pushing children too quickly into feared situations
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trying to eliminate anxiety entirely
Understanding these patterns helps parents shift toward responses that support long-term confidence.
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What You Will Learn In This Workshop
By the end of the workshop, parents will understand:
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how anxiety works in the brain and nervous system
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why some children experience anxiety more strongly than others
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the five most common patterns of childhood anxiety
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the situations that commonly trigger anxiety responses
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why certain well-intended parenting responses can maintain anxiety
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practical strategies that help children build confidence and emotional resilience
Parents will leave with clear strategies and practical tools they can begin using immediately.
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Workshop details
Everything you need to know before booking.
Date, Time and Cost
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Saturday 30 May 2026 OR Saturday 29 August 2026 from 09:00–14:30
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Inperson (Centurion) - R850/person
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Online - R700/person (Online sessions are live and facilitated, not pre-recorded)
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Who it’s for
This workshop is designed for parents who:
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feel concerned about their child’s anxiety or worries
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want to better understand emotional overwhelm in children
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want practical tools for responding to anxiety
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want to help their child develop confidence and resilience
The workshop is suitable for parents of children from preschool through early adolescence.
What’s included
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A full 5.5-hour live workshop (09:00–14:30)
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Practical examples and real-life applications
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Space to reflect, ask questions, and make sense of your own child’s behaviour
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Take-home notes to support reflection and application after the workshop
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A complimentary 20-minute follow-up consultation to help you apply the framework to your family
For in-person attendees:
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Tea-time refreshments
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Lunch
Supporting an anxious child can feel confusing and exhausting for parents.
When parents understand how anxiety works, they are able to respond in ways that reduce fear and strengthen their child’s confidence over time.
This workshop will give you practical insight into what your child may be experiencing and provide strategies you can begin using immediately.
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Upcoming workshop dates
All workshops take place on a Saturday, from 09:00–14:30.
Choose the date and format that works for you.
You don’t need to prepare, read anything in advance, or have this figured out before attending.
The content, structure, and approach are the same across all formats.
In-person Workshops
About Learning for Life
A grounded, relationship-centred approach to parenting and behaviour.
Learning for Life supports parents, teachers, and families in understanding children’s behaviour, development, and emotional wellbeing.
Through workshops, parent guidance, and counselling services, Learning for Life focuses on helping adults understand what children’s behaviour is communicating and how to respond in ways that build both structure and connection.
The Learning for Life approach is informed by current research in child development, neuroscience, and relational parenting. Influential voices in this field include Dr Bruce Perry, Dr Dan Siegel, Dr Becky Kennedy, and other researchers working at the intersection of brain development and emotional regulation.
Workshops are designed to translate this research into practical strategies that parents can use in everyday situations with their children.
Learning for Life works with families navigating a wide range of challenges, including emotional regulation, anxiety, neurodivergence, sensory sensitivity, discipline struggles, and adoption-related questions.
This workshop is presented by Lourindi Nel, founder of Learning for Life.
Lourindi works with children, parents, and teachers to help adults better understand children’s behaviour and emotional needs. Her work focuses on helping families respond to children with both clear structure and strong relational connection.
Through workshops, counselling, and parent guidance, Lourindi has supported many families navigating challenges such as anxiety, emotional regulation, sensory sensitivity, neurodivergence, and discipline struggles.
Her approach combines practical experience with current research in child development and neuroscience, with a strong focus on translating complex ideas into strategies parents can use in everyday situations with their children.
A note on expectations
This workshop is not about quick fixes, behaviour charts, or rigid scripts.
It’s about understanding what’s driving behaviour and learning how to respond with clarity and steadiness — even when things don’t go smoothly.
