How to Help Your Anxious Child Without Rescuing Them

What if helping your anxious child avoid something today is quietly making it harder for them tomorrow?

Kate Mason sits down with Professor Vanessa Cobham, a clinical psychologist, University of Queensland professor, and one of the minds behind Fearless Triple P, a free program for parents of anxious children.

Drawing on years of research and clinical work in Brisbane's public Child and Youth Mental Health Service, Vanessa reframes anxiety as a normal, useful part of being human and explains how the anxiety avoidance trap keeps fear alive.

Together, Kate and Vanessa explore why understanding your child's anxiety matters more than removing it, how "fear ladders" turn overwhelming challenges into manageable steps, and the one simple question every parent can ask.

You'll leave with practical, hopeful parenting tools to help your child discover they can cope.

Listen for:

05:55 Does childhood anxiety come from genetics, temperament, or stressful experiences?

12:15 What is the anxiety avoidance trap and why do parents fall in?

13:21 What should parents do when their anxious child begs to skip a sleepover?

19:20 What is a fear ladder and how does Vanessa Cobham use one?

21:04 Is your child's anxiety a real warning or a faulty smoke alarm?

Guest Vanessa Cobham, PhD Clin Psych | Professor in Clinical Psychology, The University of Queensland

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