How can I tell if my child has an anxiety disorder?

When parents are watching for anxiety in small kids, they should look for physical symptoms. If kids are always complaining about a stomach ache, they've been to the doctor, they don't have stomach symptoms like diarrhea, constipation, other problems but it's a never ending stomach ache, that is likely due to anxiety. Same thing with headaches or when they're always trying to avoid the same situation. They always have a pain at the same time of the week. It's not like having a period once a month, it's every time church starts, every time they're supposed to go to basketball, every time a certain friend calls. Parents should watch for these things in little kids.

Older kids will actively avoid the stressful situations. Parents may notice that the child used to always be into drama or basketball and suddenly they're not auditioning or they're not trying out. Also, their sleep patterns get off. Teenagers are naturally going to want to stay up late and wake up late but suddenly they can't even wake up on time for things they enjoy. They can't wake up when their friends are going boating or they're going snowboarding. They're missing things they used to care about. Those are signs that parents should be talking to their child's healthcare provider.