Earlier the better for child anxiety disorders

A study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has suggested that it may be more beneficial for children to confront and manage their fears rather than use other techniques to deal with them. The study found that children were able to complete exercises designed to expose them to and neutralise their fears much earlier than suggested in treatment manuals for childhood anxiety disorders and that treatment that was shorter and began exposure to the child's fear earlier than usual was more effective at improving children's functioning.

You can read more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/10/30/confront-fears-to-reduce-child-anxiety/3233.html