Child 7. Anxiety
Dec 24, 2025
Anne Lockfield, executive chair of the Centre for Young Lives, shares her work on the Raising the Nation Play Commission and designing play into communities. She discusses how outdoor free play builds confidence and resilience. Short scenes cover reclaiming children’s freedom, prescribing play through community change, and how play can counter childhood anxiety.
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Anxiety Is Both Useful And Harmful
- Anxiety can be both useful (preparing the body) and harmful (lingering dread).
- Short-term adrenaline responses and chronic background worry arise from similar biological mechanisms.
Trying The Toddler VR Supermarket
- India visits the Birkbeck Toddler Lab's VR "Cave" and tries a toddler-focused supermarket game with sensors.
- The experiment shows how sensory load can make executive tasks harder for young children.
Sensory Processing Shapes Early Anxiety
- Toddlers' brains pick up sensory input intensely and struggle to habituate compared to adults.
- Sensory sensitivity can lead to avoidance patterns that grow into anxiety about places and experiences.
