Design for Life: Am I failing as a parent if my child is unhappy?

This week, clinical psychologist Dr Malie Coyne advises a reader on how to deal with an anxious and struggling child

It helps to tell children that anxiety is not a sign of anything being wrong with them. Picture: Getty

Dear Expert,

I’m wondering if you can help me in relation to the job I’m doing as a parent. Put simply, I’m at my wits’ end. I’m a mum with two daughters. The older one is fine – she has plenty of friends and she tries hard at everything – but the younger one is a totally different story.

She’s a very sensitive person, shy and self-conscious. In the past few years she has become ...