Parental accommodation refers to the way caregivers adjust their behavior in order to minimize or prevent their child from experiencing anxiety or distress. It is common in parenting children with anxiety and/or OCD. Examples of parental accommodation include participating in a child’s rituals, providing constant reassurance, permitting school refusal, modifying family routines and avoiding certain topics or words. While helpful in the short-term, parental accommodation can inadvertently reinforce child anxiety and OCD and limit a child’s ability to cope with these symptoms independently.
