Helping Sensitive Kids Through Fear and Anxiety

Author

Jill Gilbert
May 22, 2025

Raising Highly Sensitive Kids. No Filter.

Hey there, Mama!

When my son was struggling with school refusal, he would often whisper, “nervous to go… nervous to go…” over and over. It broke my heart. His anxiety had taken over, those were the only words he could find and I had no idea how to help.

Highly sensitive kids feel everything so deeply. Their joy is big—but so is their fear. And often, they don’t have the language yet to explain what they’re feeling. So it comes out as “I’m scared,” or “I don’t want to go,” or a total refusal to try something new. To us, it might seem like a small thing—a new class, a different routine, a minor disagreement with a friend. But to them? That is their world.

Eventually I learned our job isn’t to dismiss their fear. It’s to help them hold it. To be their anchor when the waves feel too big. And sometimes that starts with taking a deep breath and saying, “I get it. I’ve felt nervous too.”

This week, we’re diving into how anxiety shows up in sensitive kids—and what we can do to help.

In this issue:

  • 🧠 What to do when your child says “I’m scared” (again and again)

  • 🎲 Our favorite new sensory tool for anxious moments

  • ❄️ My favorite mom-regulation hacks for staying calm when their anxiety spikes

  • 💬 A powerful parent-centered therapy for childhood anxiety

  • 🎵 A playlist that instantly helps us both calm down

Jill

HSC MAMA, FOUNDER & CEO

🔮 WHAT YOU NEED MOST RIGHT NOW

When “I’m Scared” Means Something More: Helping Your Highly Sensitive Child with Anxiety

Anxiety in highly sensitive kids isn’t always obvious. It can look like clinginess, tummy aches, refusal, or endless “what if” questions. Sometimes it’s mistaken for stubbornness, defiance, or even laziness—when in reality, your child is doing their best to cope with a nervous system on high alert.

In our latest blog post, we break down what anxiety looks like in sensitive kids—and walk you through gentle, practical ways to help them feel more safe, seen, and supported in their daily life.

🧸 SENSITIVE APPROVED!

A Simple Way to Help Calm Your Child’s Anxious Body

When a child is overwhelmed or anxious, talking usually isn’t the answer. Their nervous system needs to regulate first—then they’re ready to listen, connect, and move forward. That’s why we’re big fans of having simple, sensory-regulating tools on hand. And these soft foam activity dice from Harkla? Total lifesavers.

Each set includes three color-coded dice designed to support different needs:

  • 🎲 One for calming down

  • 🎲 One for boosting focus

  • 🎲 One for waking up and feeling energized

Each side shows an easy sensory activity—with both a picture and word—so even young or pre-reading kids can use them independently. And as a bonus, the set comes with video demos from an occupational therapist to help you learn how to do each one effectively.

Perfect for transitions, after-school resets, or just those “everything feels too big” moments.

☕ Sip & Support: While "A Cuppa Momsense" is our gift to you, some product links may be affiliates. If you treat yourself, we might get a little something too – at no extra cost to you. It's how we keep the coffee flowing! 💖

🔧 HSC MOM HACK OF THE WEEK

How I Keep Myself Regulated—So I Can Be My Child’s Anchor

Let’s be honest: half the battle of helping our sensitive kids with their anxiety is managing our own.

Our kids are wired to pick up on our emotional cues—and when we're dysregulated, it only adds fuel to their already-overloaded nervous system. But the good news? When we regulate ourselves, we become their anchor. Here are a few real-deal tools I lean on when I’m the one spiraling:

🧊 The Ice Pack Trick – With summer creeping in, I’ve noticed that heat = instant irritability. I keep a couple of soft gel ice packs in the fridge and pop one on my chest when I feel myself getting snappy. Bonus? Cooling your chest stimulates the vagus nerve, which signals your body to chill out—helpful anytime, not just when you're overheating.

🔇 Noise Cancelers or Loops = Sanity – Loud environments fry my brain. If things get too intense, I throw on my noise-canceling headphones for a few minutes or slip in my Loops earplugs if I still need to be able to hear. It takes the edge off just enough so I can actually respond instead of react.

🌿 The Step-Outside Reset – No phone. No agenda. I just step outside for a minute or two, breathe in the air, and look for something I haven’t noticed before—a weirdly shaped leaf, a sound I’ve never tuned into. It grounds me, recenters me, and reminds me of the bigger picture.

None of these cost a ton or take more than a few minutes. But they help me show up calm, collected(ish), and ready to co-regulate when my child needs me most.

🧭 NEW ON OUR RADAR

A New Approach to Therapy for Anxious Children

We just came across something that instantly made us say, "Yes—this makes so much sense." It’s called SPACE Therapy (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), and if you’re raising a highly sensitive child who struggles with anxiety, this might be worth a look.

What stood out to us? It’s parent-centered. Instead of focusing on trying to “fix” your child, SPACE helps you make shifts in how you respond to their anxiety—so they can begin to feel more secure, confident, and independent. It’s all about small, intentional changes we as parents can make to create a safer emotional space for our kids to thrive.

It’s practical, empowering, and incredibly aligned with what we believe here at Calm Mama Revolution.

🎧 WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO

When Words Don’t Work, We Play This

This anxiety relief playlist has become a quiet little lifesaver in our house. There’s something about the frequencies it uses that feels different from other calming music. It’s soothing without being sleepy, grounding without being boring.

When my child is anxious or spiraling, sometimes I don’t try to fix it right away. Instead, we sit down together, no words, and just listen to this for a few minutes. And something shifts. His shoulders drop. My breath slows. Suddenly, we’re both in a better place to talk through what’s going on.

Sometimes regulation starts with stillness—and this playlist helps us find it.

🥰 Could this newsletter help a mom you know?

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Until next week, sip slowly & savor the calm ☕️