Why it’s important: One in three children will experience a clinically significant anxiety disorder before adulthood. While therapy and medication are very effective treatments, this study reflects a growing interest in the role parents can play in helping kids cope better. “It just makes sense. Parents influence their children much more than even the best therapist,” says Matthew Biel, M.D., division chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, in Washington, D.C.