To label, or NOT to label. That is the question.

Recently I told someone that I suspected my daughter had anxiety. Their response was "What is with everyone using all of these labels lately?! When my kids were little, that was just kids being kids! Now everyone has to put a label to it."

Ouch...

Now, I suspect my daughter may have anxiety for a number a reasons, but in this particular conversation we were discussing bedtime routines and how my daughter (who is 3) gets frustrated and has a hard time falling asleep if we don't keep our routine consistent. If my husband and I are putting kids to bed together, my daughter needs to have both of us snuggle with her for at least a little while before she even thinks about closing her eyes. On the nights when only one of us lays with her, she will cry and throw a fit and jump out of bed and do all the normal things you would imagine a 3-year-old would do.

Here's where I think anxiety might play a part. While she's throwing her tantrum, she has a hard time breathing and she seems uncontrollable. If she carries on long enough, the only thing that will calm her down is to wrap my arms around her and apply slight pressure. Then I sing an entire song, and finally her breathing will slow. This has been happening more and more lately, and I'm taking note of all the things that may have led up to it before bedtime. I'm not coming up with any consistent "triggers."

She has not been diagnosed by a medical professional. I have never brought this up to our doctor. Heck, I've never even said the words out loud until I was having an innocent conversation with someone about it. I could be completely wrong in thinking she has anxiety! And I hope that I am.

But her anxious tendencies remind me of myself when I was a kid. And if someone had labeled me with "anxiety," my coping skills could be a lot better.

As a parent, the best I can do for my children is love them and pray for them and listen to their needs as they grow. Not everything has a label. This may just be a phase. But if my daughter has anxiety, then we will find the best ways to deal with it and hopefully give her the best skills to overcome it.

XO, Courtney