Help! My Child's Anxious

From birthday parties and loud noises to school and social situations, everyday experiences can feel overwhelming for an anxious child. But what's actually happening, and what can parents do to help? This week on Help! My Child's Anxious, Vanessa Feltz and her daughter, child therapist Saskia Joss, go back to basics to explain childhood anxiety and share practical ways to help children feel safer...

The BBC has cut scenes from Horrible Histories, including sketches about child labour and slavery. But are we protecting children from frightening subjects, or avoiding conversations they actually need? In this episode of Help! My Child's Anxious, Vanessa Feltz and her daughter, child therapist Saskia Joss, tackle a big parenting question: how much should we shield children from the frightening re...

A new study suggests baby girls may be more drawn to faces than baby boys from the first hours of life. But does that actually mean parents should raise boys and girls differently? Vanessa Feltz and child therapist Saskia Joss unpack what these differences might mean for parents, why gender stereotypes can stop us from seeing the child in front of us, and whether girls may sometimes become better...

Are today’s children really a “snowflake generation”, or are they dealing with levels of anxiety that previous generations simply didn’t face? Vanessa Feltz and child therapist Saskia Joss unpack the growing mental health crisis among children and young people, following Professor Peter Fonagy’s argument that today’s young people are not “snowflakes” and that it has genuinely become harder to be y...

Vanessa Feltz and child therapist Saskia Joss look at the explosion of mental-health content online, why some children are identifying strongly with diagnostic labels, and how parents can take their concerns seriously without accepting everything an algorithm tells them. They discuss misleading ADHD content on TikTok, why symptoms can look different between children, what teachers can help parents...

Back-to-school anxiety can appear at the school gates, after the school day, around exams or in the way a child suddenly talks about themselves. In this episode of Help! My Child’s Anxious, Vanessa Feltz and child therapist Saskia Joss answer real questions from parents struggling with the return to school. What should you do when your child cries and refuses to go into school? Why can a child beh...

What if the answer to an increasingly connected, anxious childhood is to go backwards? Vanessa Feltz and child therapist Saskia Joss explore the growing “90s summer” trend, where parents are swapping packed schedules, constant screen time and endless online stimulation for bikes, books, boredom, playing outside and a little more freedom. But can you really take the phones away without making summe...

In this episode of Help! My Child’s Anxious , hosts Vanessa Feltz and Saskia Joss are joined by child, family, and adult psychotherapist Zara Kadir (from The Therapy Shed ) to explore how anxiety and neurodiversity intersect in children. Zara shares insights from both her professional practice and her personal journey parenting a son with ADHD. The conversation dives into the common ways anxiety m...

A seven-minute walk was taking Shakira Akabusi three and a half hours. From the outside, nobody had a clue. In this episode of Help! My Child is Anxious, Vanessa Feltz and child therapist Saskia Joss sit down with women's health expert and StrongLikeMum founder Shakira Akabusi to talk about body anxiety, OCD, and what happened when pregnancy pulled the floor out from under her. Shakira grew up in...

Your child holds it together all day at school, then falls apart the moment they get home. If that is your house, this episode is for you. Vanessa Feltz and child therapist Saskia Joss are joined by Lisa Lloyd, autism advocate and author of Unmasking Mum, for one of the most honest conversations we have had on this podcast. Lisa is mum to two autistic children, and she was only diagnosed autistic...

Welcome to Help My Child's Anxious , hosted by broadcaster Vanessa Feltz and her daughter, child therapist Saskia Joss. In this episode, Vanessa and Saskia welcome special guest Laura Amies (known as Nanny Amies), a former nanny turned parenting expert and mother. Laura opens up about her personal journey after her daughter Elizabeth was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). She candidly s...

It's our one-year anniversary ! Vanessa Feltz and her daugther child therapist Saskia Joss look back on twelve months of Help! My Child's Anxious — from topping podcast charts in 47 countries (yes, including the Solomon Islands) to what a year of talking about anxiety has taught them both. This week they tackle a headline-grabbing claim from Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson: are anxious, "he...

If you are currently trying to figure out how to help an anxious child while facing an absolute crisis in youth healthcare access, you are not alone. In this episode of Help! My Child's Anxious, veteran broadcaster Vanessa Feltz and child therapist Saskia Joss confront the reality of the 2-year CAMHS waiting list and explain how parents can step in to build a safe psychological sanctuary at home r...

Everyone's talking about "anxiety bags" on TikTok — but is packing your child a bag full of comfort objects actually helpful, or does it risk making anxiety worse? In this episode, child therapist Saskia Joss and her mum Vanessa Phelps unpack the trend, explore the psychology of transition objects and sensory tools, and share why reframing it as a "confidence kit" might work better. We also tackle...

Child therapist Saskia Joss explains to her mother Vanessa Feltz why Grandparents play such a crucial role in the lives of children. They also go into how you can Grandparent from afar. Saskia answers a question about boredom and Vanessa gets interviewed for a job at the Palace. Watch and Subscribe to the Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@VanessaandSaskia Follow the show on Instagram: http...

Vanessa Feltz chats to her child therapist daughter about why parents feel they are in constant competition and what parents can do to address this feeling. Saskia also answers a very funny listener question and they also hear from comedian Francine Lewis. Subscribe to the Help! My Child's Anxious Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@VanessaandSaskia

Child therapist Saskia Joss explains Survival Mode and how to escape it to her mother Vanessa Feltz. Saskia gives us some simple tips to help parents go from surviving to thriving. Watch this episode on the Youtube Channel: https://youtu.be/9hicNxbeqZA Follow the Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helpmychildsanxiouspod/

You can make your child have the safest home and build them a strong network of people but bullying may still take place when they're at school. We talk about the signs to spot and how you can help your child with opening up to you

We didn't lie to you this is part 2 to our social anxiety episode. Last week we spoke about anxiety for littlens and this week we're talking about teenagers. The signs are slightly harder to notice but we're here to help with that!

Social anxiety is such a debilitating anxiety but as you'll hear in todays conversation it doesn't just stick to kids.

Wellcome back all for another episode this week we're talking about 'Gentle Parenting'. Does gentle parenting work or does it raise rabid children?

A big thing lots of children therapists are noticing in children is burnout. You make think these little characters in your life have bundles and bundles of energy but they're actually getting burnt out - And we're here to help you!

This week we talk about the accusation that anxiety isn't real or being blown out of proportion. We have an anxiety specialist (our very own Saskia Joss) break down how anxiety is in fact VERY real.

Welcome back! This week on the podcast we're talking about how to assist your Childs anxiety with events or objects. If your child doesn't like dogs, parties or clowns you may think the best way to get over these fears is by making them experience the things that scares them. This may not actually be the case...

This week we're doing things a little differently - instead of focusing on one form of anxiety we're looking into what you should actually say to your anxious child. We're sort of scripting what you need to be saying to assist your child.