Most babies experience separation anxiety, and many older children are afraid of the dark or nervous about going to school. While these and other forms of anxiety are a normal part of childhood, severe anxiety can also manifest in children. The symptoms of anxiety disorders in children are more persistent, last longer and cause more problems in a child's daily life than ordinary childhood worries.
Excessive Worries
While worrying to some degree is a normal part of childhood, children with anxiety disorders have worries that are more persistent and varied. Worries that last for more than six months can be a sign of generalized anxiety disorder; another sign is if the child is unable to stop worrying even with reassurance from parents, suggests Massachusetts General Hospital.
Insomnia
Children who suffer from anxiety often lose sleep as a result. Common symptoms of anxiety in children include fears of sleeping away from home, disturbed sleep and trouble falling asleep at night. Children suffering from sleeping troubles may exhibit additional symptoms of tiredness and misbehavior as a result of the lack of sleep.
School Refusal
According to the Merck Manual, the most common symptom of anxiety in children and adolescents is school refusal. This used to be known as school phobia, but it is now generally recognized to have a variety of anxiety-linked causes, including separation anxiety, social phobia and specific phobias of situations encountered at school, rather than fear of school itself.
Academic Difficulties
Falling grades, missing homework and trouble concentrating in class can all be related to children's anxiety. These symptoms may be mistaken for ADHD or a learning disorder, and children may not be able to explain the reasons for their behavior.
Physical Symptoms
Anxiety often manifests in children as a physical complaint such as a stomachache, headache or nausea. Young children, especially, may not be able to articulate their fears and worries as emotional complaints but instead describe their physical symptoms. Older children and teens may also feel the physical effects of anxiety without recognizing that their symptoms have a psychological cause.
