Children and eco-anxiety – what can parents do to help?

According to new research out today reported in the Independent by youth empowerment and conservation charity Action for Conservation, a massive 64% of children aged 11-16 surveyed said that they were experiencing ‘eco-anxiety’. The Independent asked me to comment, which I did in the piece. Below, I say more about it.

We’re not talking about it, really.

Climate change used to feel distant for many of us around the world but as global temperatures increase more people are experiencing extreme weather events like floods, wildfires and droughts. Add to that our lived experience of a pandemic, daily news of the nature depletion, and the rise in pollution in the air, soil and water, it’s no wonder that many people, particularly parents, young people and children are worried.

Understandably, many parents just don’t know what to do or say to their children for fear of alarming them or creating more anxiety. As a result, some avoid the subject entirely or make light of it, as are many parts of society that are living in a protective unconscious bubble of disavowal. Yet children are exposed to it in the media, their schools and clubs are educating them around climate and caring for the environment, and some children’s daily routines are being disrupted - if the road to school is flooded again and it didn’t happen last year or the year before, they can’t not know.

On a practical level, yes we may be talking about it. But what about at the emotional level?

So what can parents do to support their children?

Learn about climate change, what’s being done to address it and how it’s impacting us. You don’t need to be a climate scientist but having a basic understanding of both the simple science and how complex our emotional responses are (including your own) is invaluable. It’s often not anxiety - it can be distress, anger, avoidance and even a complete lack of feeling, a kind of numbness. Learn about how much a child at a particular can generally take in, so you can talk at the right level with them.
Build a network of people you can talk to – a stronger you will make for stronger support for your child. That could be friends or family, or participating in a climate café listening circle (for example, those run by the Climate Psychology Alliance), or a local parents’ group.
Remember that children, particularly younger ones, don’t experience the world in the same way as you do and their concerns may be more immediate and practical like “How am I going to get to see my friends today if we can’t get to school?” Or, “Are we going to have to move house?” Or even more stark, “Are we all going to die?” That can be very hard to hear so you need to build your own resilience.
Invite your child to talk, if they want to, without forcing them. Ask them what they know about climate change and how they feel. And then just listen, really listen. Not when you’re texting on your phone but giving them your genuine uninterrupted attention, so they can express whatever they wish to, without you dismissing their concerns, trying to soothe them, or fix it immediately, although every bone in your body might want to. They often just want to know that you can hear and “contain” their worries - that will help them to contain them well too. Deep listening can be transformative for both of you and whilst this certainly won’t be the only conversation you have about climate change, their experience of it will pave the way for more.
Without rushing your child, only when they have really been heard, invite them towards some new perspectives. “Yes and” (also known as “both and”) can be useful in both acknowledging their concerns and offering a balance. For example, if they say they are scared, let them know you’ve understood, for example, “Yes, it is scary sometimes, and there are a lot of things being done around the world to address it. Shall we think about what we could do, at home or outside?”
The Action for Conservation study shows that children who are experiencing eco-anxiety found that learning in school how to protect the environment, taking action to improve nature, and spending time in nature are the top three ways to help manage these feelings. In fact the research also discovered that 43% of children spend as little as eight and a half minutes in nature daily, compared to the recommended minimum of one hour. So consider how you might build more time in the rest of nature into your child’s life.
Older children and adolescents may have very different concerns - about the next years, their education, their future career. These concerns are normal adolescents as they transition towards adulthood, but worries about climate change can compound them. Make time to get to understand their thinking on the situation, and encourage them to pursue their interests whether that’s politics, tech, nature. And encourage them (even more than you probably already are!) them to get off their mobile phones because excessive “doom scrolling” can become addictive and lead to more anxiety and even depression.

There’s lots of resources for children, young people and parents at the Resilience Project, from the Climate Psychology Alliance, and some great teaching resources with visuals, maps, games and more at OneHome.

Being anxious or distressed about climate change is a perfectable understandable response to what’s happening, and in itself is not a cause for alarm - in fact it’s healthy to feel. However if you’re particularly worried about your child’s mental health and their distress isn’t eased by talking or getting active, you could can talk to a climate aware professional - the Climate Psychology Alliance and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy have contact details for several.

Helping children to share and explore their feelings about climate change and a rapidly changing world is an ongoing process but there is lots of support out there for you and them. You’re not alone. But if we don’t invite our children to talk about how they feel about climate change, they may well feel they are.

Photo by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash

Linda Aspey5 June 2024Comment