Parents struggle to understand and manage self-soothing behaviors that escalate into harmful scratching during childhood anxiety

Parents of toddlers experience distress when their children develop anxiety-triggered self-harm behaviors like ear and face scratching, but lack clear guidance on whether this is normal development, a sign of deeper issues, or how to intervene effectively. Current solutions (pediatrician visits, generic parenting advice) often fail to provide specific, actionable strategies for de-escalating these episodes in real-time or understanding root causes.